Dysfunction of neural circuitry in depressive patients with suicidal behaviors: a review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies.

Suicide is an important public problem. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of suicidal behavior in depression will facilitate the development of more effective prevention strategies for suicide. There are several reviews of imaging studies of suicidal behavior, but none of these reviews have focused only on suicide in depression. We reviewed neuroimaging studies of suicide in depression in recent years. The majority of studies found structural and functional alterations in the orbital frontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and striatum in depressive patients with suicidal behaviors. The evidence suggests that the frontal-striatal circuitry, which includes the striatum, orbital frontal and anterior cingulate cortices, is involved in the neurobiology of suicide in depressive patients. These findings also indicate that not all suicides have the same underlying neuropathology. Future studies require larger samples and more accurate subtypes of suicide. Furthermore, combining neuroimaging and other new technologies in molecular biology will be helpful to reveal the pathogenesis of suicidal behavior in depression.