Pituitary volume reduction in schizophrenia following cognitive behavioural therapy
Journal article
Premkumar, P., Bream, D., Sapara, A., Fannon, D., Anilkumar, A. P., Kuipers, E. and Kumari.V. (2018). Pituitary volume reduction in schizophrenia following cognitive behavioural therapy. Schizophrenia Research. 192, p. 416–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.04.035
Authors | Premkumar, P., Bream, D., Sapara, A., Fannon, D., Anilkumar, A. P., Kuipers, E. and Kumari.V. |
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Abstract | Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for psychosis (CBTp) aims to lower the stress of psychotic symptoms. Given that the pituitary is involved in stress regulation, CBT-led stress reduction may be accompanied by a change in pituitary volume. This study aimed to determine whether CBTp reduces pituitary volume in schizophrenia. The relation between pre-therapy memory and CBTp-led pituitary volume change was also examined given that poor memory relates to a blunted cortisol awakening response, denoting impaired stress response, in schizophre- nia. Pituitary volume was measured at baseline in 40 schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder patients and 30 healthy participants before therapy. Pituitary volume was measured again 6–9 months after patients had either received CBTp in addition to standard care (CBTp + SC, n = 24), or continued with standard care alone (SC, n = 16). CBTp + SC and SC groups were compared on pituitary volume change from baseline to follow-up. Pre-ther- apy memory performance (Hopkins Verbal Learning and Wechsler Memory Scale – Logical memory) was corre- lated with baseline-to-follow-up pituitary volume change. Pituitary volume reduced over time in CBTp + SC patients. Additionally, pre-therapy verbal learning correlated more strongly with longitudinal pituitary volume reduction in the CBTp + SC group than the SC group. To conclude, CBTp reduces pituitary volume in schizophre- nia most likely by enhancing stress regulation and lowering the distress due to psychotic symptoms. |
Keywords | Cognitive behavioural therapy; Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis; Memory; Stress regulation |
Year | 2018 |
Journal | Schizophrenia Research |
Journal citation | 192, p. 416–422 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.04.035 |
Web address (URL) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920996417302220?via%3Dihub |
Publication dates | |
21 Apr 2017 | |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 16 Apr 2017 |
Deposited | 06 Jan 2021 |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Accepted author manuscript | License File Access Level Controlled |
https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/8qx38
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