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. 2010 Jun;119(1-3):75-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2009.12.021. Epub 2010 Jan 13.

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

Valeria Mondelli  1 , Carmine M Pariante, Serena Navari, Monica Aas, Alessandro D'Albenzio, Marta Di Forti, Rowena Handley, Nilay Hepgul, Tiago Reis Marques, Heather Taylor, Andrew S Papadopoulos, Katherine J Aitchison, Robin M Murray, Paola Dazzan
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Higher cortisol levels are associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in first-episode psychosis

Valeria Mondelli et al. Schizophr Res. 2010 Jun.

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.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Correlation analyses between AUC of diurnal cortisol levels (baseline) and left hippocampal volume (baseline) in first-episode psychosis patients (n=23).
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