The release of gamma-aminobutyric acid during inhibition in the cat visual cortex

1. The release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from the surface of the posterior lateral gyrus of the cerebral cortex was measured by a sensitive enzymic fluorimetric assay procedure. Experiments were performed with anaesthetized cats during resting conditions and during cortical inhibition produced by electrical stimulation of the brain surface or of the lateral geniculate nucleus (l.g.n.).2. The average resting release of endogenous GABA was 0.20 n-mole/ 7 min.cm(2) cortex; this was increased during stimulation of both the cortical surface (2.9 times resting release during monopolar stimulation and 7.4 times resting release during bipolar stimulation) and the l.g.n. (5.7 times resting release).3. Removal of calcium ions from the collection fluid did not affect the resting release of endogenous GABA but prevented the increase in GABA release normally evoked by stimulation of the cortical surface.4. The stimulus parameters used to increase the release of GABA also inhibited the glutamate-induced firing of single cells in the visual cortex and this inhibition was abolished in the absence of calcium ions.5. In three experiments the total amino acid content of cortical samples was examined using an amino acid analyser. With the exception of GABA, there were no significant differences between the rates of release of any other detected amino acids during periods with and without electrical stimulation of the cortex.6. It is suggested that since the release of GABA observed during inhibitory stimulation of the cortex is calcium-dependent and specific, it may originate from inhibitory nerve terminals in the cortex. The present findings support the view that GABA is a central inhibitory neurotransmitter.