Cited by 66Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Amygdala functional connectivity during self-face processing in depressed adolescents with recent suicide attempt

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Alarcón, Gabriela, Sauder, Mitchell, Teoh, Jia Yuan, Forbes, Erika E., Quevedo, Karina·2019·Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Abstract

Objective Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents; however, objective biomarkers of suicide risk are lacking. Aberrant self-face amygdala activity is associated with suicide ideation, and its connectivity with neural regions that enable self-processing (eg medial prefrontal cortex) may be a suicide risk factor.Method Adolescents (aged 11-17 years; N = 120) were sorted into four groups: healthy controls (HC), depressed individuals with low suicide ideation (LS), depressed individuals with high suicide ideation (HS), and depressed suicide attempters (SA). Youth completed an emotional (Happy, Sad, Neutral) self-face recognition task in the scanner. Bilateral amygdala task-dependent functional connectivity was determined with psychophysiological interaction analysis. Connectivity was compared across groups and within Self versus Other faces across emotions and hemispheres. Voxelwise results were thresholded (p < .005, uncorrected) and corrected for multiple comparisons (p < .05, familywise error).Results Both HS and SA displayed greater amygdala connectivity with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and precuneus, compared to LS, who, in turn, showed greater connectivity than HC. Greater left amygdala-rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) connectivity was observed in SA compared to all other groups, whereas right amygdala-rACC connectivity was greater in HS versus LS and HC.Conclusion Greater connectivity between amygdala and other regions implicated in self-face processing differentiated suicide ideation and suicide attempt groups. A dose-dependent response showed that greater rACC-left amygdala connectivity during self-face processing was associated with a recent suicide attempt, but that a greater rACC-right amygdala connectivity was associated with suicide ideation.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.06.036

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  • Suicide ideators and attempters show reduced frontolimbic task-based connectivity.

    “there is reduced frontolimbic task-based connectivity in suicide ideators and attempters.”
  • Amygdala-seed PPI connectivity is elevated in high ideators and attempters relative to low ideation in DLPFC, dorsomedial PFC, and precuneus; connectivity with inferior parietal lobule is elevated in high ideation compared to low ideation and attempters.

    “Amygdala-seed PPI connectivity is elevated in the high ideators and attempters relative to the low ideation group in the DLPFC, dorsomedial PFC, and precuneus, and by contrast, connectivity with inferior parietal lobule is elevated in the high ideation group compared to low ideation and attempters.”
  • Greater connectivity with rostral ACC during self versus other face trials is found for left amygdala in attempters compared to all groups, but for right amygdala in high ideators relative to low ideators and controls.

    “Greater connectivity with the rostral ACC during self versus other face trials also is found for the left amygdala in attempters (compared to all groups) but right amygdala in high ideators (relative to low ideators and controls) (75).”
  • High ideators and attempters show greater task connectivity between amygdala and DLPFC, dACC, dorsomedial PFC, and precuneus compared to low ideators.

    “Within the same sample, high ideators and attempters also show greater task-connectivity between the amygdala and the DLPFC, dACC, dorsomedial PFC, and precuneus compared to low ideators (75).”
  • Youth STB research is characterized by alterations within prefrontal and limbic systems, where a compromised regulatory system may potentiate suicidal thinking, and perturbations in top-down and bottom-up connections may lead to suicidal behaviors.

    “Consistent with Schmaal and colleagues (32), youth STB research is characterized by alterations within prefrontal (53–55) and limbic (62, 75, 102, 103) systems whereby a compromised regulatory system may potentiate suicidal thinking, and perturbations in top-down and bottom-up connections may lead to suicidal behaviors.”

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Authors
Alarcón, G., Sauder, M., Teoh, J. Y., Forbes, E. E., & Quevedo, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
Corresponding author
Quevedo, Karina
Venue
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-02
Volume
58
Issue
2
Pages
221-231
ISSN
0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2901657636
Cited by
66
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4
FWCI
5.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
erratum (2019-05-01)
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health
  • Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
  • NARSAD
  • University of Minnesota
  • NIMH
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, adolescent depression, self-face processing, amygdala, functional connectivity, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, hemispheric lateralization
MeSH terms
Facial Recognition, Adolescent, Amygdala, Brain Mapping, Child, Depressive Disorder, Emotions, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nerve Net, Self Concept, Suicide

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