Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry (생물정신의학)

The Korean Society of Biological Psychiatry (대한생물정신의학회)
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A Review on Brain Imaging Studies of Suicide in Youth

청소년기 자살에 대한 뇌영상 연구

  • 이수지 (이화여자대학교 뇌융합과학연구원) ;
  • 김신혜 (이화여자대학교 뇌융합과학연구원) ;
  • 윤수정 (이화여자대학교 뇌융합과학연구원)
  • Received : 2021.09.06
  • Accepted : 2021.09.28
  • Published : 2021.10.31
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Abstract

Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, especially among adolescents and young adults. Considering this fact, it is imperative that we understand the neural mechanisms underlying suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth from a neurodevelopmental perspective. In this review, we focused on the magnetic resonance imaging studies that examined the neural correlates of suicidal ideations (SI) or attempts (SA) in youth. We reviewed twenty-three cross-sectional studies reporting the structural and functional alterations in association with SI or SA among adolescents and young adults with various mental disorders. The previous literature suggests that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral frontolimbic circuit, may play an important role in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior in youth through altered top-down control over emotion and impulsivity. Future studies with a longitudinal design and using multimodal imaging techniques may be of help to identify novel therapeutic targets specific for youth with suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grants funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2020M3E5D9080555) and funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2020R1A6A1A03043528 and NRF-2020R1I1A1A01057962).

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