Ghrelin-Mediated Hippocampal Neurogenesis: Implications for Health and Disease

There is a close relationship between cognition and nutritional status, however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship require elucidation. The stomach hormone, ghrelin, which is released during food restriction, provides a link between circulating energy state and adaptive brain function. The maintenance of such homeostatic systems is essential for an organism to thrive and survive, and accumulating evidence points to ghrelin being key in promoting adult hippocampal neurogenesis and memory. Aberrant neurogenesis is linked to cognitive decline in ageing and neurodegeneration. Therefore, identifying endogenous metabolic factors that regulate new adult-born neurone formation is an important objective in understanding the link between nutritional status and central nervous system (CNS) function. Here, we review current developments in our understanding of ghrelin’s role in regulating neurogenesis and memory function. There is a close relationship between cognitive performance and nutritional status, but the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood.The hormone, ghrelin, which is released during food restriction, triggers adaptive responses to improve learning and memory by increasing the formation of new neurones in the adult brain.The birth of new neurones (neurogenesis) from neural stem cells in the adult mammalian brain is an important process involved in protecting against the age-related decline in cognitive function.Activation of the hippocampal ghrelin receptor may be a viable therapeutic approach to stimulate neurogenesis and protect against age- and disease-related cognitive decline.