Abstract: The localization of two forms of the γ subunit of G proteins, γ3 and γ12, was examined in the mammalian brain. Concentrations of these two γ subunits increased markedly, as did those of glial fibrillary acidic protein, during postnatal development in the rat cerebral cortex. In aged human brains, by contrast, the concentration of γ3 tended to decrease with age, whereas that of γ12 in the temporal cortex increased slightly. An immunohistochemical study of human brains revealed that γ3 was abundant in the neuropil, whereas γ12 was localized in glial cells. In the hippocampal formation of aged human brains, levels of γ12‐positive cells, as well as levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein‐ and vimentin‐positive astrocytes, increased, in particular in the CA1 subfield and the prosubiculum, in which there was a decrease in the number of pyramidal cells. The appearance of γ12‐positive cells associated with the loss of pyramidal cells was also observed in the hippocampus of rats that had been treated with kainic acid. These results indicate that γ12 is strongly expressed in reactive astrocytes. In a study of cultured neural cells, we found that γ12 was predominant in glioma cells, such as C6 and GA‐1 cells, in contrast with the specific localization of γ3 in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells, which are neuron‐like cells. Taken together, the results indicate that γ3 and γ12 are selectively expressed in neuronal and glial cells, respectively, and that concentrations of γ3 and γ12 in the brain are related to the numbers and/or extent of maturation of these cells.