Figure 8. CREB mutant mice exhibit blunted stress-induced Fos protein expression independent of previous drug conditioning. Although wild-type mice exhibit an increase in Fos protein in the ventral (a) and dorsal (b) BNST, lateral septum (c), and the nucleus accumbens shell (d) in response to forced swim stress, CREBαΔ mutant mice do not. Although no interactions were present between genotype and drug pretreatment, a decrease in stress-induced Fos expression in the ventral and dorsal BNST was present in both genotypes after cocaine conditioning. Comparable stress-induced Fos expression was seen in both genotypes in the nucleus accumbens core (e), lateral hypothalamus (f), prelimbic cortex (g), or infralimbic cortex (h). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 compared with No Stress condition, #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 genotype comparison of wild type versus mutant within the FST groups.