To screen for the interaction of BZDs with brain anxiety states, we administered DZP at an anxiolytic but not sedative dose (1 mg/kg; Supplementary Fig. S1) and mapped limbic c-Fos expression after exposure to different anxiogenic stimuli, ranging from a 5 min long EPM session (a BZD sensitive, mildly anxiogenic environment by itself [11–13] and used for functional analysis at a later stage) to a series of ten 0.5 mA foot shocks (which promote anxiety [14–18]), or a combination of both (Fig. 1a) [19]. This evidence concerns the gene FOS and Anxiety.