Networks in brain play crucial role in suicide risk
Researchers have identified key networks within the brain which they say plays a crucial role in fostering a person to commit suicide.
The facts in relation to suicide are stark: 800,000 people die globally by suicide every year, the equivalent of one every 40 seconds. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death globally among 15-29 year olds. More adolescents die by suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease combined. As many as 1 in 3 adolescents think about ending their lives and 1 in 3 of these will attempt suicide.
Imagine having a disease that we knew killed almost a million people a year, a quarter of them before the age of 30, and yet we knew nothing about why some individuals are more vulnerable to this disease, said the 1st author of the study.
This is where we are with suicide. We know very little about what's happening in the brain, why there are sex differences, and what makes young people especially vulnerable to suicide the authir said.
The team of researchers in order to understand the study well carried out a review of 2 decades' worth of scientific literature relating to brain imaging studies of suicidal thoughts and behaviour. In total, they look at 131 studies, which covered more than 12,000 individuals, looking at alterations in brain structure and function that might increase an individual's suicide risk.
Combining the results from all of the brain imaging studies available, the team looked for evidence of structural, functional and molecular alterations, in the brain that could increase the risk of suicide. They identifies 2 brain networks and the connections between them that appear to play an important role.
The first of these networks involve areas towards the front of the brain known as the medial and lateral ventral prefrontal cortex and their connections to other brain regions involved in emotion. Alteration in this network may lead to excessive negative thoughts and difficulties regulating emotions, stimulating thoughts of suicide.
The 2nd network involves regions known as the dorsal prefrontal cortex and inferior gyrus system. Alterations in this network may influence suicide attempt, in part, due to its role in decision making, generating alternative solutions to problems and controlling behaviour.
The majority of studies so far have been cross-sectional, meaning that they take a ' snapshot' of the brain, rather than looking over a period of time, and so can only relate to suicidal thoughts or behaviours in the past. The researchers say there is an urgent need for more research that looks at whether their proposed model relates to future suicide attempts and whether any therapies are able to change the structure or function of these brain networks and thereby perhaps reduce suicide risk.
The facts in relation to suicide are stark: 800,000 people die globally by suicide every year, the equivalent of one every 40 seconds. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death globally among 15-29 year olds. More adolescents die by suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease combined. As many as 1 in 3 adolescents think about ending their lives and 1 in 3 of these will attempt suicide.
Imagine having a disease that we knew killed almost a million people a year, a quarter of them before the age of 30, and yet we knew nothing about why some individuals are more vulnerable to this disease, said the 1st author of the study.
This is where we are with suicide. We know very little about what's happening in the brain, why there are sex differences, and what makes young people especially vulnerable to suicide the authir said.
The team of researchers in order to understand the study well carried out a review of 2 decades' worth of scientific literature relating to brain imaging studies of suicidal thoughts and behaviour. In total, they look at 131 studies, which covered more than 12,000 individuals, looking at alterations in brain structure and function that might increase an individual's suicide risk.
Combining the results from all of the brain imaging studies available, the team looked for evidence of structural, functional and molecular alterations, in the brain that could increase the risk of suicide. They identifies 2 brain networks and the connections between them that appear to play an important role.
The first of these networks involve areas towards the front of the brain known as the medial and lateral ventral prefrontal cortex and their connections to other brain regions involved in emotion. Alteration in this network may lead to excessive negative thoughts and difficulties regulating emotions, stimulating thoughts of suicide.
The 2nd network involves regions known as the dorsal prefrontal cortex and inferior gyrus system. Alterations in this network may influence suicide attempt, in part, due to its role in decision making, generating alternative solutions to problems and controlling behaviour.
The majority of studies so far have been cross-sectional, meaning that they take a ' snapshot' of the brain, rather than looking over a period of time, and so can only relate to suicidal thoughts or behaviours in the past. The researchers say there is an urgent need for more research that looks at whether their proposed model relates to future suicide attempts and whether any therapies are able to change the structure or function of these brain networks and thereby perhaps reduce suicide risk.