Preprint
Brain correlates of suicide attempt in 18,925 participants across 18 international cohorts
medRxiv, Vol.11 May 2020
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
2020
Abstract
Background: Suicidal behavior is highly heterogeneous and complex. A better understanding of its biological substrates and mechanisms could inform the design of more effective suicide prevention and intervention strategies. Neuroimaging studies of suicidality have so far been conducted in small samples, prone to biases and false-positive associations, yielding inconsistent results. The ENIGMA-MDD working group aims to address the issues of poor replicability and comparability by coordinating harmonized analyses across neuroimaging studies of major depressive disorder and related phenotypes, including suicidal behavior.
Methods: Here, we pool data from eighteen international cohorts with neuroimaging and clinical measurements in 18,925 participants (12,477 healthy controls and 6,448 people with depression, of whom 694 had attempted suicide). We compare regional cortical thickness and surface area, and measures of subcortical, lateral ventricular and intracranial volumes between suicide attempters, clinical controls (non-attempters with depression) and healthy controls.
Findings: We identified 25 regions of interest with statistically significant (FDR<0.05) differences between groups. Post-hoc examinations identified neuroimaging markers associated with suicide attempt over and above the effects of depression, including smaller volumes of the left and right thalamus and the right pallidum, and lower surface area of the left inferior parietal lobe.
Interpretation: This study addresses the lack of replicability and consistency in several previously published neuroimaging studies of suicide attempt, and further demonstrates the need for well-powered samples and collaborative efforts to avoid reaching biased or misleading conclusions. Our results highlight the potential involvement of the thalamus, a structure viewed historically as a passive gateway in the brain, and the pallidum, a region linked to reward response and positive affect. Future functional and connectivity studies of suicidality may focus on understanding how these regions relate to the neurobiological mechanisms of suicide attempt risk.
Details
- Title
- Brain correlates of suicide attempt in 18,925 participants across 18 international cohorts
- Authors
- Adrian I Campos (Author) - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research InstitutePaul M Thompson (Author) - University of Southern CaliforniaDick J Veltman (Author) - Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamElena Pozzi (Author) - The University of MelbourneLaura S van Veltzen (Author) - The University of MelbourneNeda Jahanshad (Author) - University of Southern CaliforniaMark J Adams (Author) - University of EdinburghBernhard T Baune (Author) - University of MünsterKlaus Berger (Author) - University of MünsterKatharina Brosch (Author) - Philipps University of MarburgRobin Bulow - Universität GreifswaldColm G Connolly - University of California, San FranciscoUdo Dannlowski - University of MünsterChristopher G Davey - The University of MelbourneGreig I de Zubicaray - Queensland University of TechnologyDanai Dima - University of LondonTracy Erwin-Grabner - University of GöttingenJennifer Evans - National Institute of Mental HealthCynthia H Y Fu - King's College LondonIan H Gotlib - Stanford UniversityRoberto Goya-Maldonado - Universitätsmedizin GöttingenHans J Grabe - Universität GreifswaldDominik Grotegerd - University of MünsterMatthew A Harris - University of EdinburghBen J Harrison - The University of MelbourneSean N Hatton - The University of SydneyMarco Hermesdorf - University of MünsterIan B Hickie - The University of SydneyTiffany C Ho - University of California, San FranciscoTilo Kircher - Philipps University of MarburgAxel Krug - Philipps University of MarburgJim Lagopoulos (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, QueenslandSee article text for complete list of remaining 31 authors (Author)ENIGMA-MDD working group (Research Group)
- Publication details
- medRxiv, Vol.11 May 2020
- Publisher
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
- Date published
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.1101/2020.05.06.20090191
- Copyright note
- The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99544908602621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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