Citation

Olvet DM, Peruzzo D, Thapa-Chhetry B, Sublette ME, Sullivan GM, Oquendo MA, Mann JJ, Parsey RV. J. Psychiatr. Res. 2014; 51: 60-67.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Department of Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.01.002

PMID

24462041

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined white matter abnormalities in suicide attempters using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This study sought to identify white matter regions altered in individuals with a prior suicide attempt. METHODS: DTI scans were acquired in 13 suicide attempters with major depressive disorder (MDD), 39 non-attempters with MDD, and 46 healthy participants (HP). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were determined in the brain using two methods: region of interest (ROI) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). ROIs were limited a priori to white matter adjacent to the caudal anterior cingulate cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex. RESULTS: Using the ROI approach, suicide attempters had lower FA than MDD non-attempters and HP in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Uncorrected TBSS results confirmed a significant cluster within the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex indicating lower FA in suicide attempters compared to non-attempters. There were no differences in ADC when comparing suicide attempters, non-attempters and HP groups using ROI or TBSS methods. CONCLUSIONS: Low FA in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex was associated with a suicide attempt history. Converging findings from other imaging modalities support this finding, making this region of potential interest in determining the diathesis for suicidal behavior.

Language: en