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Cerebral tissue alterations and daily life stress experience in psychosis
Author(s) -
Marcelis M.,
MyinGermeys I.,
Suckling J.,
Woodruff P.,
Hofman P.,
Bullmore E.,
Delespaul P.,
Van Os J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.02177.x
Subject(s) - grey matter , white matter , psychosis , experience sampling method , confounding , psychology , magnetic resonance imaging , cerebrospinal fluid , medicine , anesthesia , psychiatry , radiology , social psychology
Objective: To examine whether the total volumes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), cerebral grey matter and white matter were correlated with the experience of environmental stress in daily life situations. Method: Twenty‐seven patients with psychosis underwent magnetic resonance imaging scanning and a random time‐sampling self‐assessment technique (Experience Sampling Method) to determine subjective daily life stress experiences. Total cerebral tissue volumes were derived from an automated segmentation procedure. Results: CSF volume was positively associated with daily life event‐related stress (β=0.016, P =0.002), while the association with total white matter was negative (β=−0.013, P =0.005). The effects were independent of each other and of total cerebral volume and other confounders. No large or significant association was found with grey matter volume. Conclusion: Subjective stress experience in daily life is associated with increased CSF and reduced white matter volumes in patients with psychosis, suggesting functional significance of these cerebral measures.