Inhibition of Ca influx and Ca current by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was studied in single synaptic terminals of isolated retinal bipolar neurons. Measurements of intracellular Ca concentration [( Ca]i) using the fluorescent Ca indicator fura-2 showed that GABA potently inhibited Ca influx into the terminal elicited by high extracellular K concentration ([K]o). This inhibition was attributed to GABA type A (GABAA) receptor-activated chloride ion conductance that prevented bipolar neurons from depolarizing sufficiently to activate the Ca current, even in response to increased [K]o. Patch-clamp recordings of the Ca current revealed a second effect of GABA: GTP-dependent inhibition of the Ca current. This inhibition was not mediated by GABAA receptors, but baclofen, which binds to the GABA type B (GABAB) receptor and is known to inhibit the Ca current in other systems, was not able to mimic the action of GABA. This suggests the involvement of a different type of GABAB-like receptor in the inhibition of Ca current by GABA. GABA did not cause an overall suppression of the Ca current; rather, the voltage-dependence of Ca-channel activation was shifted to more depolarized potentials. Thus, maximal inhibition of the Ca current by GABA occurred in the physiological range of potential.