in VTA dopamine neurons, which prevents the stress-induced increase in VTA excitability and the consequent release of BDNF onto the nucleus accumbens — maladaptations that contribute to vulnerability41,67 (FIG. 2). The transcriptional regulation of dozens of additional genes in the VTA and nucleus accumbens of resilient mice now provides novel pathways towards understanding the molecular basis of resilience as well as towards developing new treatments for depression and other stress-related disorders.
