A method of assessing a psychiatric disorder, behavioural problem or mental state following exposure to stress is described. Expression levels of mRNA transcripts for a plurality of genes linked to a stress-related neural state in the peripheral blood of a subject are measured. The expression levels of the genes, relative to a reference set of expression levels for the same genes in a healthy subject, are used to predict or assess a psychiatric disorder following exposure to a stressor.
A GENE EXPRESSION METHOD FOR EVALUATING A PSYCHIATRIC STATE