Higher cortisol levels are associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in first-episode psychosis
Received 24 August 2009; received in revised form 17 December 2009; accepted 19 December 2009. published online 13 January 2010.
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.
aInstitute of Psychiatry, King's College London, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK
bSection of Neurobiology of Mood Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
cAffective Disorders Laboratory, National Affective Disorders Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Kent, UK
Corresponding author. Sections of Perinatal Psychiatry & Stress, Psychiatry and Immunology (SPI-Lab), Centre for the Cellular Basis of Behaviour, The James Black Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, 125 Coldharbour Lane, London SE5 9NU, UK. Tel.: +44 20 7848 726; fax: +44 20 7848 986.
ABSTRACT