Studies in mouse and zebrafish models demonstrated an important role for Egr1 in social behavior and the formation of proper neuronal circuits (Tallafuss et al., 2022), while in humans Egr1 was shown to be connected with stress-related mood disorders, schizophrenia, and depression (Duclot and Kabbaj, 2017). This evidence concerns the gene EGR1 and major depressive disorder.