Cortisol awakening response is decreased in patients with first-episode psychosis and increased in healthy controls with a history of severe childhood abuse

Childhood abuse is highly prevalent in psychosis patients, but whether/how it affects hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis at the onset of psychosis remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of severity of childhood abuse on HPA axis activity, in first-episode psychosis (FEP) and healthy controls.

Source: Schizophrenia Research - May 15, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Simone Ciufolini, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Helen L. Fisher, Tiago Reis Marques, Heather Taylor, Marta Di Forti, Patricia Zunszain, Craig Morgan, Robin M. Murray, Carmine M. Pariante, Paola Dazzan, Valeria Mondelli Source Type: research