Characterizing and TRAPing a Social Stress-Activated Neuronal Ensemble in the Ventral Tegmental Area.

ABSTRACT: Social stress is a major contributor to neuropsychiatric issues such as depression, substance abuse and eating disorders. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is involved in the effects of stress on cognitive and emotional processes perturbed in these disorders. However, the VTA is a cellularly heterogeneous brain area and it remains unclear which of its neuronal populations make up the social stress-sensitive ensemble. The current study characterizes the molecular, topographical and functional properties of VTA social stress-activated cells. First, we used immunohistochemical analysis of Fos protein, a marker of recent increased neuronal activity, to show that acute social stress activates a mainly neuronal ensemble in the VTA (VTA_{Social stress} neurons). Topographical analysis show

SUBMITTER: Koutlas I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9304991 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature