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Suicide is a serious problem in the United States. In 2010, over 38,000 people killed themselves, according to the CDC. On average, that’s over 100 people per day. We don’t really understand suicide.
What, if anything, makes suicidal people different from others? Is it environmental factors such as losing a job or loved one, or is it differences in brain structure or function that make people respond to such negative occurrences by taking their own lives?
A new project will attempt to tease apart factors that might differentiate the brains of suicide-prone individuals from others.
Related on the SLP
Dr. Carlos Zarate and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health plan to examine the structure and function of the brains of 50 people who tried to commit suicide (unsuccessfully, of course) in the two weeks before they joined the study. They will be compared to the brains of several other groups — 40 people who attempted suicide over a year previously; 40 people who were depressed or anxious, but had never tried to kill themselves; and 40 healthy people.
Read full, original post: Are Brains of Suicidal People Different?
