Citation

Quevedo K, Teoh JY, Liu G, Santana-Gonzalez C, Forbes EE, Engstrom M. J. Psychiatr. Res. 2022; 148: 204-213.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.037

PMID

35131589

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of plasticity in neural substrates underpinning self-processing. Such substrates are worth studying in depressed youth at risks for suicide because altered neurobiology of self-processing might partially explain differences between suicide attempting youth versus youth who contemplate but do not attempt suicide. Understanding altered substrates of self-processing among depressed adolescents with suicide attempts is critical for developing targeted prevention and treatment. Healthy youth (N = 40), youth with depression and low (N = 33) or high suicide ideation (N = 28), and youth with depression and past suicide attempt (N = 28) heard positive or negative self-descriptors during fMRI and evaluated them from their own, their mother's, classmates', and best friend's perspectives. Lower bilateral caudate activity during positive self-processing distinguished suicide attempting adolescents from all other youth. Higher bilateral caudate activity during negatively valenced self-processing tended to distinguish youth with depression. Blunted reward circuitry during positive vs. negative self-related material tended to distinguish suicide attempting youth, reflecting potentially enhanced behavioral preparedness for punishing vs. rewarding self-relevant cues.

Language: en

Keywords

Depression; Suicide attempt; Adolescence; Caudate; Self-processing