Use of ghrelin or functional ghrelin receptor agonists to prevent and treat stress-sensitive psychiatric illness

A method of treating stress-sensitive psychiatric diseases arising from trauma exposure in a subject comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of ghrelin or an agent that enhances ghrelin signaling in the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA), within a memory re-consolidation period following re-activation of a memory of a previous trauma exposure.

A method of treating stress-sensitive psychiatric diseases arising from trauma exposure in a subject who has been exposed to chronic stress, comprising steps of:

• (a) upregulating the endogenous level of ghrelin receptors (GSHRs) of the subject;
• and
• (b) administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of ghrelin or an agent that enhances ghrelin signaling in the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) of the subject, within a memory consolidation period following the trauma exposure.

A method of determining whether a subject who is not exposed to chronic stress is likely to develop stress-sensitive psychiatric diseases following a traumatic exposure, comprising conducting an assay to measure the basal ghrelin levels in the subject, wherein the basal ghrelin level in the subject prior to the traumatic exposure is inversely related to the risk of the subject developing a stress-sensitive psychiatric disease.