Pituitary Volume and Socio-Cognitive Functions in Individuals at Risk of Psychosis and Patients With Schizophrenia

• Main Authors: Tsutomu Takahashi, Yuko Higuchi, Yuko Komori, Shimako Nishiyama, Yoichiro Takayanagi, Daiki Sasabayashi, Mikio Kido, Atsushi Furuichi, Yumiko Nishikawa, Mihoko Nakamura, Kyo Noguchi, Michio Suzuki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-11-01
• Series: Frontiers in Psychiatry
• Subjects: at-risk mental state; schizophrenia; pituitary gland; HPA axis; working memory
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00574/full

Objectives: Increased pituitary volume, which probably reflects hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hyperactivity, has been reported in patients with schizophrenia and individuals at risk of psychosis. On the basis of potential role of abnormal HPA axis function on cognitive impairments in psychosis, we aimed to examine possible relations between the pituitary volume and socio-cognitive impairments in these subjects.Methods: This magnetic resonance imaging study examined the pituitary gland volume in 38 subjects with at-risk mental state (ARMS) [of whom 4 (10.5%) exhibited the transition to schizophrenia], 63 patients with schizophrenia, and 61 healthy controls. Social and cognitive functions of the ARMS and schizophrenia groups were assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS), the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS), and the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS).Results: Both the ARMS and schizophrenia groups had a significantly larger pituitary volume compared to controls. In the schizophrenia group, the pituitary volume was negatively associated with the BACS working memory score. No association was found between the pituitary volume and clinical variables (medication, symptom severity) in either clinical group.Conclusion: Our findings support the notion of common HPA hyperactivity in the ARMS and schizophrenia groups, but abnormal HPA axis function may contribute differently to cognitive deficits according to the illness stages of schizophrenia.