The suicide risk linked to the structures of the brain

An international study has established a link between brain structures and the risk of people suffering from depression attempting to take their own lives. A result that paves the way for new treatments to prevent suicides. In research led by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, the brains of nearly 19,000 people were studied: of whom 694 had attempted suicide and over 6,000 were suffering from depression and had not attempted to take their own lives. In the largest and most comprehensive neuroimaging study of behavior so far

In subjects who attempted suicide, three regions of the brain were smaller: the thalamus which connects the brain circuits, the pallidum which is associated with processing of sensory and emotional signals, and the left inferior parietal lobe. There were no differences in the size of these areas in the other two groups that had no history of attempted suicide. "The most significant difference is in the size of the thalamus, one of the sensory signal processing centers that has historically been considered a passive gateway into the brain," writes lead researcher Miguel Renteria on the Institute's website. "Our research - he points out - provides a better understanding of the biological basis of suicidal behavior.

It is an important first step towards the development of more effective and targeted prevention, intervention and therefore treatment strategies. "The results pave the way for the development of new therapies. Brain stimulation treatments are already used to treat depression. and once the sections of the brain involved in a higher risk of suicide have been identified, those parts can be stimulated to decrease the risk, observes the scholar. (ANSA).