Exposure to severe and/or repeated stress is a well‐established trigger of depressive symptoms, as observed both at the clinical7 and the preclinical8 level. Response to stress determines the extent of depressive symptoms, and this is substantiated by an accumulating body of preclinical data examining individual variability to the effects of stress.9, 10, 11 Notably, susceptibility to stress is characterized by dysregulation of the brain reward pathways12, 13, 14 and is accompanied by severe reward‐associated behavioral deficits.15, 16 For example, stress‐susceptible animals display facilitation of drug‐seeking behaviors, as observed in increased alcohol, amphetamine, and cocaine intake17, 18 and sensitization to the effects of cocaine and amphetamine.15, 19
