Stress, the hippocampus and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: Implications for the development of psychotic disorders

Abstract

Objective: The experience of stress is commonly implicated in models of the onset of psychotic disorders. However, prospective studies investigating associations between biological markers of stress and the emergence of psychotic disorders are limited and inconclusive. One biological system proposed as the link between the psychological experience of stress and the development of psychosis is the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. This paper summarizes and discusses evidence supporting a role for HPA-axis dysfunction in the early phase of schizophrenia and related disorders. Method: A selective review of psychiatric and psychological research on stress, coping, HPA-axis, the hippocam..