Citation

Jagger-Rickels A, Stumps A, Rothlein D, Evans T, Lee D, McGlinchey R, Degutis J, Esterman M. J. Affect. Disord. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2023.04.061

PMID

37086805

Abstract

Functional neuroimaging has the potential to help identify those at risk for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, as well as inform neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to suicide. Based on whole-brain patterns of functional connectivity, our previous work identified right amygdala and right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) connectivity patterns that differentiated Veterans with a history of a suicide attempt (SA) from a Veteran control group. In this study, we aimed to replicate and extend our previous findings by examining whether this aberrant connectivity was present prior to and after a SA. In a trauma-exposed Veteran sample (92 % male, mean age = 34), we characterized if the right amygdala and right MTG connectivity differed between a psychiatric control sample (n = 56) and an independent sample of Veterans with a history of SA (n = 17), using fMRI data before and after the SA. The right MTG and amygdala connectivity differed between Veterans with and without a history of SA (replication), while MTG connectivity also distinguished Veterans prior to engaging in a SA (extension). In a second study, we investigated the connectivity in those with current ideation (n = 27) compared to matched psychiatric controls (n = 27); neither of these SA connectivity patterns significantly differed. These results indicate a potential stable marker of suicide risk (right MTG connectivity) as well as a potential marker of acute risk of or recent SA (right amygdala connectivity) that are independent of current ideation.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide attempt; Suicide risk; Amygdala; Brain markers; Middle temporal gyrus; Resting state fMRI