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Elsevier, Schizophrenia Research, 1-3(119), p. 75-78

DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2009.12.021

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Higher cortisol levels are associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in first-episode psychosis

Journal article published in 2010 by Valeria Mondelli ORCID, Carmine M. Pariante, Serena Navari, Monica Aas, Alessandro D'Albenzio, Marta Di Forti ORCID, Rowena Handley, Nilay Hepgul, Tiago Reis Marques ORCID, Heather Taylor, Andrew S. Papadopoulos, Katherine J. Aitchison, Robin M. Murray, Paola Dazzan
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This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between cortisol secretion and hippocampal volume in first-episode psychosis and healthy controls. Hippocampal volume was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 24 first-episode psychosis patients and in 18 healthy controls, together with diurnal cortisol levels. Twelve patients received a second MRI scan at 3-month follow-up. Diurnal cortisol levels were inversely correlated with left hippocampal volume in patients, both at baseline and at follow-up, while no correlation was found in controls. Our findings suggest that smaller hippocampal volume in first-episode psychosis can partly be explained by stress-related processes in the brain, as measured by cortisol hyper-secretion.