Biologic abnormalities in the brain of persons, who attempt or complete suicide, are increasingly recognized as an essential element in the cause of suicide, which claims the lives of more than 30,000 in the United States each year. Direct evidence for this arises in large part from careful quantitative studies of postmortem brain tissue. This article reviews the data supporting the notion that there are alterations in neurotransmitters long associated with regulation of cognition and mood in the brains of suicide victims. Neurotransmitter abnormalities have been found in the ventral prefrontal cortex of suicide victims, a brain region that plays a role in behavioral inhibition. A failure of behavioral restraint mechanisms may result in a predisposition to suicidal behavior.

The potential involvement of abnormalities in nuclei located in the brainstem in suicide was first suggested about 30 years ago.<sup>80 Shaw D.M., Camps F.E., Eccleston E.G. 5-Hydroxytryptamine in the hind-brain of depressive suicides Br J Psychiatry 1967 ;  113 : 1407-1411  [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> After a series of brainstem studies, subsequent research has mainly focused on monoamine receptors in the prefrontal cortex, a major target of monoaminergic neuronal projections from neurons whose cell bodies reside in the brainstem. Most recently, the morphology and neurochemical function of key brainstem nuclei has again been the object of study. This article emphasizes findings from the brainstem. How is it that an abnormality in the phylogenetically oldest part of the brain could contribute to suicide, a uniquely human behavior?