Morphine- and foot shock-responsive neuronal ensembles in the VTA possess different connectivity and biased GPCR signaling pathway.

Neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are sensitive to stress and their maladaptation have been implicated in the psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and addiction, . The cellular properties of the VTA neurons in response to different stressors related to different emotional processing remain to be investigated. By combining immediate early gene (IEG)-dependent labeling, rabies virus tracing, ensemble-specific transcriptomic analysis and fiber photometry recording in the VTA of male mice, the spatial distribution, brain-wide connectivity and cellular signaling pathways in the VTA neuronal ensembles in response to morphine (Mor-Ens) or foot shock (Shock-Ens) stimuli were investigated.