[Stress and psychosis]

An important component of vulnerability and environmental factors, specially stress, are essential for the production of psychoses, in particular schizophrenia. By the other hand, stress impairs clinical features in psychotic and prepsychotic patients. This happens principally because of the activation of Hyppotalamus - Pituitary - Adrenal axis and mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. Preventive and therapeutical stress management may improve the evolution of psychosis.