OBJECTIVE: A critical need exists to identify objective markers of suicide ideation. One potential suicide risk marker is the Suicide Implicit Association Task (S-IAT), a behavioral task that uses differential reaction times to compare the implicit association between the self and death to the implicit association between the self and life. Individuals with a stronger association between the self and death on the S-IAT are more likely to attempt suicide in the future. To better understand the neural underpinnings of the implicit association between self and either life or death, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) version of the S-IAT was adapted and piloted in healthy volunteers. METHOD: An fMRI version of the S-IAT was administered to 28 healthy volunteers (ages 18-65, 14F/14M). RESULTS: Behavioral results were comparable to those seen in non-scanner versions of the task. The task was associated with patterns of neural activation in areas relevant to emotional processing, specifically the insula and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Performance on the S-IAT fMRI task may reflect scores obtained outside of the scanner. In future evaluations, this task could help assess whether individuals at increased risk of suicide display a different pattern of neural activation in response to self/death and self/life stimuli.
OBJECTIVE: A critical need exists to identify objective markers of suicide ideation. One potential suicide risk marker is the Suicide Implicit Association Task (S-IAT), a behavioral task that uses differential reaction times to compare the implicit association between the self and death to the implicit association between the self and life. Individuals with a stronger association between the self and death on the S-IAT are more likely to attempt suicide in the future. To better understand the neural underpinnings of the implicit association between self and either life or death, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) version of the S-IAT was adapted and piloted in healthy volunteers. METHOD: An fMRI version of the S-IAT was administered to 28 healthy volunteers (ages 18-65, 14F/14M). RESULTS: Behavioral results were comparable to those seen in non-scanner versions of the task. The task was associated with patterns of neural activation in areas relevant to emotional processing, specifically the insula and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Performance on the S-IAT fMRI task may reflect scores obtained outside of the scanner. In future evaluations, this task could help assess whether individuals at increased risk of suicide display a different pattern of neural activation in response to self/death and self/life stimuli.
Authors: Christine B Cha; Jeffrey J Glenn; Charlene A Deming; Eugene J D'Angelo; Jill M Hooley; Bethany A Teachman; Matthew K Nock Journal: Psychol Assess Date: 2016-01-28
Authors: Marcel Adam Just; Lisa Pan; Vladimir L Cherkassky; Dana L McMakin; Christine Cha; Matthew K Nock; David Brent Journal: Nat Hum Behav Date: 2017-10-30
Authors: Jessica R Gilbert; Elizabeth D Ballard; Christina S Galiano; Allison C Nugent; Carlos A Zarate Journal: Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging Date: 2019-12-03
Authors: Elizabeth D Ballard; Jessica R Gilbert; Jessica S Fields; Allison C Nugent; Carlos A Zarate Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2020-09-24 Impact factor: 4.157
Authors: Tatum M Cummins; Oliver English; Helen Minnis; Daniel Stahl; Rory C O'Connor; Kirsty Bannister; Stephen B McMahon; Dennis Ougrin Journal: JAMA Netw Open Date: 2021-07-01
Authors: Anthony J Gifuni; M Mallar Chakravarty; Martin Lepage; Tiffany C Ho; Marie-Claude Geoffroy; Eric Lacourse; Ian H Gotlib; Gustavo Turecki; Johanne Renaud; Fabrice Jollant Journal: J Psychiatry Neurosci Date: 2021-05-07 Impact factor: 6.186