fear response, as well as shorter recovery time after chronic social defeat stress in mice [24, 25]. Analysis of the central nucleus of the amygdala, which mediates acute reinforcing actions, separately from the basolateral amygdala, which mediates processes conditioned reinforcing and drug-induced reinstatement [17], might have unveiled differential Fkbp5 expression profiles in the present study. A positive fronto-amygdala correlation of Fkbp5 expression was present in alcohol-drinking rats exposed to ELS, suggesting an Fkbp5-mediated interplay between executive and emotional regulating areas under the interactive influence of ELS and alcohol. While the absence of correlations between the VTA, Acb, and Ccx could be interpreted as a consequence of the herein observed effects of maternal separation and alcohol which disrupted potential relationships between these regions. On the other hand, the lack of interaction effects on Fkbp5 expression in the mPFC and dStr might be explained by the fact that the rats were sacrificed at a time point when habitual and compulsive stages of alcohol drinking, which are mainly mediated by cortical and striatal regions, were not yet well established. Finally, the strong negative relationship between corticosterone and gene expression in the mPFC of alcohol-drinking control rats and its absence in other groups calls
