Fattahi Morteza, Esmaeil-Zadeh Milad, Soltanian-Zadeh Hamid, Rasouli Nafee, Fallahinia Niloofar, Jafari Mehdi Abad Amirhossein, Khosrowabadi Reza, Malakouti Seyed Kazem
Control and Intelligent Processing Center of Excellence (CIPCE), School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College.
Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 4;20(8):e0327562. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327562. eCollection 2025.
Understanding brain function in individuals who have recently attempted suicide is critical for improving diagnosis and treatment strategies. This study aimed to examine neural activity patterns in such individuals (who had attempted suicide 1-4 weeks before the study) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the General Linear Model (GLM).
Sixty participants were recruited and categorized into three groups: individuals with a recent suicide attempt and Major Depressive Disorder (SA + MDD), individuals with Major Depressive Disorder without a suicide attempt (MDD), and healthy controls (HC). Participants performed the Raven task, consisting of 24 trials with a 25-second time limit for each item. Brain activity was analyzed to identify regional differences among groups using ANOVA, followed by Tukey's post-hoc pairwise comparisons.
Compared to the MDD and HC groups, the SA + MDD group exhibited significantly reduced activation in the left medial superior frontal cortex (SFC), left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and left precentral gyrus. Positive correlations were observed between the Scale for Suicidal Ideation scores and activity in the medial SFC and ACC, whereas a negative correlation was found with precentral gyrus activity. While task accuracy did not significantly differ among the groups, the SA + MDD group demonstrated significantly shorter response durations.
Individuals with recent suicide attempts show diminished activation in key left-hemispheric regions involved in cognitive control and problem-solving, including the medial SFC, ACC, and precentral gyrus. These neural deficits may impair decision-making and problem-solving abilities, particularly when compounded by hopelessness and a diminished sense of purpose, potentially contributing to increased suicide risk.
了解近期有自杀企图者的脑功能对于改进诊断和治疗策略至关重要。本研究旨在使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）和通用线性模型（GLM）检查此类个体（在研究前1 - 4周有过自杀企图）的神经活动模式。
招募了60名参与者并分为三组：近期有自杀企图且患有重度抑郁症的个体（SA + MDD）、患有重度抑郁症但无自杀企图的个体（MDD）以及健康对照组（HC）。参与者完成瑞文测验任务，该任务由24个项目组成，每个项目限时25秒。使用方差分析（ANOVA）分析脑活动以确定组间区域差异，随后进行Tukey事后两两比较。
与MDD组和HC组相比，SA + MDD组在左侧额上内侧皮质（SFC）、左侧前扣带回皮质（ACC）和左侧中央前回的激活明显减少。自杀意念量表得分与内侧SFC和ACC的活动之间存在正相关，而与中央前回活动呈负相关。虽然各组之间任务准确性无显著差异，但SA + MDD组的反应持续时间明显更短。
近期有自杀企图的个体在涉及认知控制和问题解决的关键左半球区域，包括内侧SFC、ACC和中央前回的激活减少。这些神经缺陷可能损害决策和问题解决能力，特别是当与绝望和目的感降低相结合时，可能会增加自杀风险。
