Because laminin possesses potent neurotrophic activity, laminin-like immunoreactivity was investigated in formalin-fixed human brains, using affinity-purified anti-human placental laminin rabbit serum. Distinct laminin-like immunoreactivity was observed in neuronal soma of certain nuclear groups, and a 180-kDa band was noted in an immunoblot study of the supernatant of brain homogenate. These observations imply that many but not all central neurons have laminin-like immunoreactive molecules. Their functional role, however, remains to be clarified.