Amygdala Functional Connectivity During Self-Face Processing in Depressed Adolescents With Recent Suicide Attempt

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Suicide is a leading cause of adolescent death, yet objective biomarkers are lacking.
• Aberrant amygdala activity during self-face processing is linked to suicidal ideation.
• Connectivity between the amygdala and self-processing regions may be a suicide risk factor.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural connectivity differences in adolescents with varying suicide risk.
• To identify potential objective biomarkers for suicide ideation and attempts in youth.

Main Methods:

• 120 adolescents (11-17 years) were grouped into healthy controls, low suicide ideation, high suicide ideation, and suicide attempters.
• A self-face recognition task was performed during functional MRI scanning.
• Task-dependent functional connectivity of the amygdala was analyzed using psychophysiological interaction analysis.

Main Results:

• Adolescents with high suicide ideation (HS) and suicide attempters (SA) showed increased amygdala connectivity with prefrontal cortex regions and precuneus compared to low suicide ideation (LS) and healthy controls (HC).
• Greater left amygdala-rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) connectivity was observed in SA compared to all other groups.
• Greater right amygdala-rACC connectivity was found in HS versus LS and HC groups.

Conclusions:

• Connectivity patterns between the amygdala and self-face processing regions differentiate suicide ideation and attempt groups in adolescents.
• Increased left amygdala-rACC connectivity during self-face processing is associated with recent suicide attempts.
• Increased right amygdala-rACC connectivity during self-face processing is associated with suicide ideation.