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Monoclonal antibody (MAb) 473 is shown to outline selectively a subpopulation of GABAergic neurons containing a specific calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) in the adult rat parietal cortex, using preembedding immunocytochemistry at the light microscopic level. About 90% of MAb 473 stained cells in the rat parietal cortex were PV immunoreactive. Thus we compared MAb 473 staining with that of three chemical probes, previously shown to stain selectively a subpopulation of PV-containing GABAergic neurons in this brain region, namely, a lectin, Vicia villosa agglutinin (VVA), with a specific affinity for terminal N-acetyl-galactosamine, MAb 3B3 which is specific for chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and MAb HNK-1 which is specific for some types of carbohydrate epitope containing a sulfated derivative of glucuronic acid. About 85% of MAb 473 immunoreactive cells were shown to be stained with VVA. Furthermore about 90% of MAb 473 immunoreactive cells were also stained with MAb 3B3. Thus MAb 473 positive cells were almost included into VVA and/or MAb 3B3 positive cells. On the other hand only about 34% of MAb 473 positive cells were HNK-1 positive, whereas about 44% of HNK-1 positive cells were MAb 473 positive. Thus these two MAbs defined different, though partially overlapping, subsets of PV-containing GABAergic neurons in the rat parietal cortex.