Monthly Archives: June 2012

The previous posts in this series include:

1. Preventing Suicide by Increasing BDNF

2. Suicide Autopsy Findings

3. Genetic Findings from Completed Suicides

Understanding the neurobiology and genetics of suicidal behavior offers new ways of preventing suicide by identifying people who are at risk. The following links describe brain imaging studies of people who exhibit suicidal feelings and behavior:

Abnormality of EEG alpha asymmetry in female adolescent suicide attempters. (Link)

Affective temperamental profiles are associated with white matter hyperintensity and suicidal risk in patients with mood disorders. (Link)

alpha-[11C]Methyl-L-tryptophan trapping in the orbital and ventral medial prefrontal cortex of suicide attempters. (Link)

An fMRI study on mental pain and suicidal behavior. (Link)

An MRI study of pituitary volume and parasuicidal behavior in teenagers with first-presentation borderline personality disorder. (Link)

Anterior cingulate volume reduction in adolescents with borderline personality disorder and co-morbid major depression. (Link)

Anterior genu corpus callosum and impulsivity in suicidal patients with bipolar disorder. (Link)

Brainstem raphe lesion in patients with major depressive disorder and in patients with suicidal ideation recorded on transcranial sonography. (Link)

Cortical and subcortical abnormalities in late-onset depression with history of suicide attempts investigated with MRI and voxel-based morphometry. (Link)

Decreased frontal serotonin 5-HT 2a receptor binding index in deliberate self-harm patients. (Link)

Dissociable patterns of neural activity during response inhibition in depressed adolescents with and without suicidal behavior. (Link)

Fronto-limbic brain structures in suicidal and non-suicidal female patients with major depressive disorder. (Link)

High-field magnetic resonance imaging of suicidality in patients with major depressive disorder. (Link)

Left orbitofrontal and superior temporal gyrus structural changes associated to suicidal behavior in patients with schizophrenia. (Link)

Major depression with psychosis after resection of a giant middle fossa hemangiopericytoma. (Link)

MRI correlates of suicide attempt history in unipolar depression. (Link)

Neuroimaging correlates of traumatic brain injury and suicidal behavior. (Link)

Orbitofrontal cortex response to angry faces in men with histories of suicide attempts. (Link)

Periventricular white matter hyperintensities as predictors of suicide attempts in bipolar disorders and unipolar depression. (Link)

Relationship between suicidality and impulsivity in bipolar I disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. (Link)

Repetitive and non-repetitive violent offending behaviour in male patients in a maximum security mental hospital–clinical and neuroimaging findings. (Link)

Serotonin transporter binding in bipolar disorder assessed using [11C]DASB and positron emission tomography. (Link)

Severe impulsiveness as the primary manifestation of multiple sclerosis in a young female. (Link)

Size of basal ganglia in suicide attempters, and its association with temperament and serotonin transporter density. (Link)

Striatal and cortical midline activation and connectivity associated with suicidal ideation and depression in bipolar II disorder. (Link)

Striatal and cortical midline circuits in major depression: implications for suicide and symptom expression. (Link)

Structural brain alterations in patients with major depressive disorder and high risk for suicide: evidence for a distinct neurobiological entity? (Link)

Subanalysis of the location of white matter hyperintensities and their association with suicidality in children and youth. (Link)

Suicidal attempts and increased right amygdala volume in schizophrenia. (Link)

Suicidal behavior is associated with reduced corpus callosum area. (Link)

Suicidality and brain volumes in pediatric epilepsy. (Link)

The functional neuroanatomy of mental pain in depression. (Link)

White matter hyperintensities and their association with suicidality in depressed young adults. (Link)

White matter hyperintensities and their association with suicidality in major affective disorders: a meta-analysis of magnetic resonance imaging studies. (Link)

White matter hyperintensities and their associations with suicidality in patients with major affective disorders. (Link)

White matter hyperintensities and their associations with suicidality in psychiatrically hospitalized children and adolescents. (Link)

Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance and impulsivity in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy: suicidal risk and suicide attempts. (Link)

In my posts Preventing Suicide by Increasing BDNF and Suicide Autopsy Findings, I linked to research describing the role of brain abnormalities in suicide. Studies of genes and gene expression also play an important role in personalized suicide prevention.

A common polymorphism in the 3′-UTR of the NOS1 gene was associated with completed suicides in Japanese male population. (Link)

A functional polymorphism of the micro-opioid receptor gene is associated with completed suicides. (Link)

A pilot genome wide association and gene expression array study of suicide with and without major depression. (Link)

A serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and prefrontal cortical binding in major depression and suicide. (Link)

Abnormal cholecystokinin mRNA levels in entorhinal cortex of schizophrenics. (Link)

Abnormal expression and functional characteristics of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein in postmortem brain of suicide subjects. (Link)

Alpha 2A adrenergic receptor gene and suicide. (Link)

Altered expression of genes involved in ATP biosynthesis and GABAergic neurotransmission in the ventral prefrontal cortex of suicides with and without major depression. (Link)

Altered expression of lipid metabolism and immune response genes in the frontal cortex of suicide completers. (Link)

Altered gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and receptor tyrosine kinase B in postmortem brain of suicide subjects. (Link)

Alternative splicing and extensive RNA editing of human TPH2 transcripts. (Link)

Alternative splicing, methylation state, and expression profile of tropomyosin-related kinase B in the frontal cortex of suicide completers. (Link)

Analysis of kinase gene expression in the frontal cortex of suicide victims: implications of fear and stress. (Link)

Angiotensin-converting enzyme polymorphism and completed suicide: an association in Caucasians and evidence for a link with a method of self-injury. (Link)

Association between a functional polymorphism in the renin-angiotensin system and completed suicide. (Link)

Association between tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene polymorphism and completed suicide. (Link)

Association of 14-3-3 epsilon gene haplotype with completed suicide in Japanese. (Link)

Association of FKBP5 gene haplotypes with completed suicide in the Japanese population. (Link)

Association of polymorphism (Val66Met) of brain-derived neurotrophic factor with suicide attempts in depressed patients. (Link)

Association of RGS2 gene polymorphisms with suicide and increased RGS2 immunoreactivity in the postmortem brain of suicide victims. (Link)

Attempted suicide among living co-twins of twin suicide victims. (Link)

Brain region specific alterations in the protein and mRNA levels of protein kinase A subunits in the post-mortem brain of teenage suicide victims. (Link)

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and tyrosine kinase B receptor signalling in post-mortem brain of teenage suicide victims. (Link)

Case-control association study of TGOLN2 in attempted suicide. (Link)

Characterization of QKI gene expression, genetics, and epigenetics in suicide victims with major depressive disorder. (Link)

Cholecystokinin-B receptor gene expression in cerebellum, pre-frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus and its association with suicide. (Link)

Clinical and genetic risk factors for suicide under the influence of alcohol in a Polish sample. (Link)

Common variations in 4p locus are related to male completed suicide. (Link)

Comparative proteomic analysis with postmortem prefrontal cortex tissues of suicide victims versus controls. (Link)

Cyclic AMP response element-binding protein in post-mortem brain of teenage suicide victims: specific decrease in the prefrontal cortex but not the hippocampus. (Link)

Decreased catalytic activity and expression of protein kinase C isozymes in teenage suicide victims: a postmortem brain study. (Link)

Differential and brain region-specific regulation of Rap-1 and Epac in depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Dysregulation in the suicide brain: mRNA expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors and GABA(A) receptor subunits in frontal cortical brain region. (Link)

Elevated cytokine expression in the orbitofrontal cortex of victims of suicide. (Link)

Elevated expression of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 mRNA at the neuronal level in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei of depressed suicides. (Link)

Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse. (Link)

Epigenetics and depression: current challenges and new therapeutic options. (Link)

ERK MAP kinase signaling in post-mortem brain of suicide subjects: differential regulation of upstream Raf kinases Raf-1 and B-Raf. (Link)

Expression of corticotropin releasing hormone receptors type I and type II mRNA in suicide victims and controls. (Link)

Frequency of long allele in serotonin transporter gene is increased in depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Gender-related urocortin 1 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the adult human midbrain of suicide victims with major depression. (Link)

Gene expression changes in the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens of mood disorders subjects that committed suicide. (Link)

Gene expression profiling of major depression and suicide in the prefrontal cortex of postmortem brains. (Link)

Gene expression profiling of post-mortem orbitofrontal cortex in violent suicide victims. (Link)

Global brain gene expression analysis links glutamatergic and GABAergic alterations to suicide and major depression. (Link)

Growth-associated protein (GAP-43), its mRNA, and protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes in brain regions of depressed suicides. (Link)

GSK-3beta gene expression in human postmortem brain: regional distribution, effects of age and suicide. (Link)

High activity-related allele of MAO-A gene associated with depressed suicide in males. (Link)

Higher expression of serotonin 5-HT(2A) receptors in the postmortem brains of teenage suicide victims. (Link)

Implication of SSAT by gene expression and genetic variation in suicide and major depression. (Link)

In Vitro Screening for Drug-Induced Depression and/or Suicidal Adverse Effects: A New Toxicogenomic Assay Based on CE-SSCP Analysis of HTR2C mRNA Editing in SH-SY5Y Cells. (Link)

Increased cortical expression of an RNA editing enzyme occurs in major depressive suicide victims. (Link)

Increased mRNA expression of alpha2A-adrenoceptors, serotonin receptors and mu-opioid receptors in the brains of suicide victims. (Link)

Increased mRNA expression of cytochrome oxidase in dorsal raphe nucleus of depressive suicide victims. (Link)

Increased serotonin 2C receptor mRNA editing: a possible risk factor for suicide. (Link)

Intronic polymorphism of tryptophan hydroxylase and serotonin transporter: indication for combined effect in predisposition to suicide. (Link)

Localization and quantification of pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA and glucocorticoid receptor mRNA in pituitaries of suicide victims. (Link)

Lower phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) activity and differential expression levels of selective catalytic and regulatory PI 3-kinase subunit isoforms in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of suicide subjects. (Link)

Major depression, 5HTTLPR genotype, suicide and antidepressant influences on thalamic volume. (Link)

Modulation in activation and expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome ten, Akt1, and 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1: further evidence demonstrating altered phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling in postmortem brain of suicide subjects. (Link)

mRNA and protein expression of selective alpha subunits of G proteins are abnormal in prefrontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Neurotrophin receptor activation and expression in human postmortem brain: effect of suicide. (Link)

P11 (S100A10) as a potential biomarker of psychiatric patients at risk of suicide. (Link)

Platelet 5-HT2A receptor subresponsivity and lethality of attempted suicide in depressed in-patients. (Link)

Polymorphisms of the cholecystokinin gene promoter region in suicide victims in Japan. (Link)

Prediction of level of serotonin 2A receptor binding by serotonin receptor 2A genetic variation in postmortem brain samples from subjects who did or did not commit suicide. (Link)

Predominant expression of tryptophan hydroxylase 1 mRNA in the pituitary: a postmortem study in human brain. (Link)

Prodynorphin mRNA expression is increased in the patch vs matrix compartment of the caudate nucleus in suicide subjects. (Link)

Proinflammatory cytokines in the prefrontal cortex of teenage suicide victims. (Link)

Protein kinase A in postmortem brain of depressed suicide victims: altered expression of specific regulatory and catalytic subunits. (Link)

Reduced expression of fatty acid biosynthesis genes in the prefrontal cortex of patients with major depressive disorder. (Link)

Reduced prefrontal cortex DARPP-32 mRNA in completed suicide victims with schizophrenia. (Link)

Regional distribution and relative abundance of serotonin(2c) receptors in human brain: effect of suicide. (Link)

Relationship of psychopathology to the human serotonin1B genotype and receptor binding kinetics in postmortem brain tissue. (Link)

RNA editing of serotonin 2C receptor in human postmortem brains of major mental disorders. (Link)

Serotonin 1A receptor genetic variations, suicide, and life events in the Iranian population. (Link)

Serotonin 2c receptor RNA editing in major depression and suicide. (Link)

Serotonin 2C receptors: suicide, serotonin, and runaway RNA editing. (Link)

Serotonin receptor subtype and p11 mRNA expression in stress-relevant brain regions of suicide and control subjects. (Link)

Serotonin receptor, SERT mRNA and correlations with symptoms in males with alcohol dependence and suicide. (Link)

Simultaneous analysis of serotonin transporter, tryptophan hydroxylase 1 and 2 gene expression in the ventral prefrontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Single nucleotide polymorphism and haplotype analysis of a novel tryptophan hydroxylase isoform (TPH2) gene in suicide victims. (Link)

Suicide brain is associated with decreased expression of neurotrophins. (Link)

Suicide candidate genes associated with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia: an exploratory gene expression profiling analysis of post-mortem prefrontal cortex. (Link)

Suicide in twins. (Link)

Suicide, impulsive aggression, and HTR1B genotype. (Link)

The association between brain-derived neurotrophic factor polymorphism (BDNF Val66Met) and suicide. (Link)

The association between catechol-O-methyl-transferase Val108/158Met polymorphism and suicide. (Link)

The N251K functional polymorphism in the alpha(2A)-adrenoceptor gene is not associated with depression: a study in suicide completers. (Link)

TPH2 polymorphisms and alcohol-related suicide. (Link)

Tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity is altered by the genetic variation in postmortem brain samples of both suicide victims and controls. (Link)

Wolfram syndrome and suicide: Evidence for a role of WFS1 in suicidal and impulsive behavior. (Link)

In the post Preventing Suicide by Increasing BDNF, I described the role of BDNF in depression and suicide. Realizing that brain abnormalities are associated with suicide offers new ways to prevent tragic loss of life. Research like this shows that suicidal behavior is not an amorphous existential crisis, but an illness that can be treated.

[(3)H]cAMP binding sites and protein kinase a activity in the prefrontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

3H-imipramine binding in the frontal cortex of suicides. (Link)

5-HT uptake sites and 5-HT2 receptors in brain of antidepressant-free suicide victims/depressives: increase in 5-HT2 sites in cortex and amygdala. (Link)

5-HT(1A) receptor function in major depressive disorder. (Link)

5-HT1D and 5-HT1E/1F binding sites in depressed suicides: increased 5-HT1D binding in globus pallidus but not cortex. (Link)

5-Lipoxygenase in the Prefrontal Cortex of Suicide Victims. (Link)

Abnormalities of SNARE mechanism proteins in anterior frontal cortex in severe mental illness. (Link)

Adenylate cyclase activity in postmortem brain of suicide subjects: reduced response to beta-adrenergic stimulation. (Link)

Adenylyl cyclase activity and G-protein subunit levels in postmortem frontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Agonist binding to alpha 2-adrenoceptors is elevated in the locus coeruleus from victims of suicide. (Link)

Alcohol dependence-related increase of glial cell density in the anterior cingulate cortex of suicide completers. (Link)

Alpha 2-adrenoceptors in the brain of suicide victims: increased receptor density associated with major depression. (Link)

Alteration in kinase activity but not in protein levels of protein kinase B and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta in ventral prefrontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Alteration of protease levels in different brain areas of suicide victims. (Link)

Alterations in brain cholecystokinin receptors in suicide victims. (Link)

Alterations in kynurenine precursor and product levels in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (Link)

Alterations in monoamine receptors in the brain of suicide victims. (Link)

Alterations in phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity and PTEN phosphatase in the prefrontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Alterations in phosphoinositide signaling and G-protein levels in depressed suicide brain. (Link)

Alterations in the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex in the frontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Altered 5-HT(2A) binding sites and second messenger inositol trisphosphate (IP(3)) levels in hippocampus but not in frontal cortex from depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Altered 5-HT2A and 5-HT4 postsynaptic receptors and their intracellular signalling systems IP3 and cAMP in brains from depressed violent suicide victims. (Link)

Altered expression and phosphorylation of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) in postmortem brain of suicide victims with or without depression. (Link)

Altered immunoreactivity of complexin protein in prefrontal cortex in severe mental illness. (Link)

Altered pineal serotonin binding in some suicides. (Link)

Amygdala cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein phosphorylation in patients with mood disorders: effects of diagnosis, suicide, and drug treatment. (Link)

Antagonist but not agonist labeling of serotonin-1A receptors is decreased in major depressive disorder. (Link)

Anterior cingulate pyramidal neurons display altered dendritic branching in depressed suicides. (Link)

Apparent higher brain weight in suicide victims: possible reasons. (Link)

Astrocytic hypertrophy in anterior cingulate white matter of depressed suicides. (Link)

Attenuated 5-HT1A receptor signaling in brains of suicide victims: involvement of adenylyl cyclase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase. (Link)

Autoradiographic analysis of [3H]ketanserin binding in the human brain postmortem: effect of suicide. (Link)

Autoradiographic analysis of alpha 1-noradrenergic receptors in the human brain postmortem. Effect of suicide. (Link)

Autoradiographic analysis of tritiated imipramine binding in the human brain post mortem: effects of suicide. (Link)

Autoradiographic demonstration of increased alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist binding sites in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Autoradiographic demonstration of increased serotonin 5-HT2 and beta-adrenergic receptor binding sites in the brain of suicide victims. (Link)

Benzodiazepine binding sites and their modulators in hippocampus of violent suicide victims. (Link)

Beta-adrenergic receptor binding in frontal cortex from suicide victims. (Link)

Beta-adrenergic receptor binding in frontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Beta-adrenoceptors in brain and pineal from depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Biologic alterations in the brainstem of suicides. (Link)

Brain 5-HT1A, 5-HT1D, and 5-HT2 receptors in suicide victims. (Link)

Brain 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake sites labeled with [3H]paroxetine in antidepressant drug-treated depressed suicide victims and controls. (Link)

Brain beta-adrenoceptor binding sites in antidepressant-free depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Brain beta-adrenoceptor binding sites in depressed suicide victims: effects of antidepressant treatment. (Link)

Brain gamma-aminobutyrate transaminase and monoamine oxidase activities in suicide victims. (Link)

Cortical serotonin7, 1D and 1F receptors: effects of schizophrenia, suicide and antipsychotic drug treatment. (Link)

Corticotropin-releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin, gastrin-releasing peptide, and neuromedin B alterations in stress-relevant brain regions of suicides and control subjects. (Link)

Cyclic AMP-mediated signaling components are upregulated in the prefrontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Cyclic-AMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the neutrophils of depressed patients. (Link)

Demonstration of decreased activity of dorsal raphe nucleus neurons in depressed suicidal patients by the AgNOR staining method. (Link)

Differential age-related loss of pigmented locus coeruleus neurons in suicides, alcoholics, and alcoholic suicides. (Link)

Distribution of HLA-DR-positive microglia in schizophrenia reflects impaired cerebral lateralization. (Link)

Elevated 5-HT 2A receptors in postmortem prefrontal cortex in major depression is associated with reduced activity of protein kinase A. (Link)

Elevated levels of endocannabinoids and CB1 receptor-mediated G-protein signaling in the prefrontal cortex of alcoholic suicide victims. (Link)

Elevated levels of tyrosine hydroxylase in the locus coeruleus in major depression. (Link)

Elevated tyrosine hydroxylase in the locus coeruleus of suicide victims. (Link)

Evidence for the 5-HT hypothesis of suicide. A review of post-mortem studies. (Link)

Evidence of altered polyamine concentrations in cerebral cortex of suicide completers. (Link)

Fatty acid composition in postmortem brains of people who completed suicide. (Link)

Fatty acid composition of the postmortem prefrontal cortex of adolescent male and female suicide victims. (Link)

Fewer pigmented locus coeruleus neurons in suicide victims: preliminary results. (Link)

Functional imaging, serotonin and the suicidal brain. (Link)

G Protein-coupled cyclic AMP signaling in postmortem brain of subjects with mood disorders: effects of diagnosis, suicide, and treatment at the time of death. (Link)

Glutamate receptors in the postmortem striatum of schizophrenic, suicide, and control brains. (Link)

GTP gamma S and forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in post-mortem brain from depressed suicides and controls. (Link)

Heterotrimeric g proteins: insights into the neurobiology of mood disorders. (Link)

High affinity [3H]imipramine and [3H]paroxetine binding sites in suicide brains. (Link)

High-resolution capillary gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry for quantification of three major polyamines in postmortem brain cortex. (Link)

Higher postmortem prefrontal 5-HT2A receptor binding correlates with lifetime aggression in suicide. (Link)

Histopathology of the hypothalamus and the neural lobe of hypophysis in suicide victims. (Link)

Human brain receptor alterations in suicide victims. (Link)

Immunodetection and quantitation of imidazoline receptor proteins in platelets of patients with major depression and in brains of suicide victims. (Link)

Immunological aspects in the neurobiology of suicide: elevated microglial density in schizophrenia and depression is associated with suicide. (Link)

Increase in serotonin-1A autoreceptors in the midbrain of suicide victims with major depression-postmortem evidence for decreased serotonin activity. (Link)

Increased alpha 2-adrenoceptor density in the frontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Increased corticotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity in monoamine-containing pontine nuclei of depressed suicide men. (Link)

Increased density of mu-opioid receptors in the postmortem brain of suicide victims. (Link)

Increased incidence of pituitary microadenomas in suicide victims. (Link)

Increased tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the dorsal raphe nucleus of alcohol-dependent, depressed suicide subjects is restricted to the dorsal subnucleus. (Link)

Involvement of serotonin in depression: evidence from postmortem and imaging studies of serotonin receptors and the serotonin transporter. (Link)

Localized alterations in pre- and postsynaptic serotonin binding sites in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Localized decrease in serotonin transporter-immunoreactive axons in the prefrontal cortex of depressed subjects committing suicide. (Link)

Low phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C activity and expression of phospholipase C beta1 protein in the prefrontal cortex of teenage suicide subjects. (Link)

Low plasma vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) associated with completed suicide. (Link)

More tryptophan hydroxylase in the brainstem dorsal raphe nucleus in depressed suicides. (Link)

Morphological differences among cavum septi pellucidi obtained in patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals: forensic implications. A post-mortem study. (Link)

Morphometric methods for studying the prefrontal cortex in suicide victims and psychiatric patients. (Link)

Morphometry of the dorsal raphe nucleus serotonergic neurons in suicide victims. (Link)

Neuroanatomical correlates of suicide in psychosis: the possible role of von Economo neurons. (Link)

Neurobiological correlates of suicidal behavior. (Link)

Neurobiology of serotonin in depression and suicide. (Link)

Neurotransmitter receptor-mediated activation of G-proteins in brains of suicide victims with mood disorders: selective supersensitivity of alpha(2A)-adrenoceptors. (Link)

Noradrenergic function in suicide. (Link)

Noradrenergic pathology in psychiatric disorders: postmortem studies. (Link)

Normal [3H]flunitrazepam binding to GABAA receptors in the locus coeruleus in major depression and suicide. (Link)

Pathophysiology of the locus coeruleus in suicide. (Link)

Postmortem brain tissue of depressed suicides reveals increased Gs alpha localization in lipid raft domains where it is less likely to activate adenylyl cyclase. (Link)

Postmortem mu-opioid receptor binding in suicide victims and controls. (Link)

Postmortem proteomic analysis in human amygdala of drug addicts: possible impact of tubulin on drug-abusing behavior. (Link)

Precipitants of adolescent suicide: possible interaction between allergic inflammation and alcohol intake. (Link)

Properties of [3H]AMPA binding in postmortem human brain from psychotic subjects and controls: increases in caudate nucleus associated with suicide. (Link)

Protein kinase C in the postmortem brain of teenage suicide victims. (Link)

Protein kinases A and C in post-mortem prefrontal cortex from persons with major depression and normal controls. (Link)

Protein levels of β-catenin and activation state of glycogen synthase kinase-3β in major depression. A study with postmortem prefrontal cortex. (Link)

Quantitative autoradiography of alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenergic receptors in the cerebral cortex of controls and suicide victims. (Link)

Reduced activation and expression of ERK1/2 MAP kinase in the post-mortem brain of depressed suicide subjects. (Link)

Reduced adenylyl cyclase immunolabeling and activity in postmortem temporal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Reduced corticotropin releasing factor binding sites in the frontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Reduced dopamine turnover in the basal ganglia of depressed suicides. (Link)

Reduced frontal cortex inositol levels in postmortem brain of suicide victims and patients with bipolar disorder. (Link)

Reduced glial and neuronal packing density in the orbitofrontal cortex in alcohol dependence and its relationship with suicide and duration of alcohol dependence. (Link)

Reduced levels of norepinephrine transporters in the locus coeruleus in major depression. (Link)

Reduced neuropeptide Y concentrations in suicide brain. (Link)

Reduced potency of zinc to interact with NMDA receptors in hippocampal tissue of suicide victims. (Link)

Reduced tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in locus coeruleus of suicide victims. (Link)

Reduction of synapsin in the hippocampus of patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. (Link)

Regionally selective increases in beta-adrenergic receptor density in the brains of suicide victims. (Link)

Regionally selective increases in mu opioid receptor density in the brains of suicide victims. (Link)

Relationship between tryptophan and serotonin concentrations in postmortem human brain. (Link)

Relationships between beta- and alpha2-adrenoceptors and G coupling proteins in the human brain: effects of age and suicide. (Link)

Selective alterations of the CB1 receptors and the fatty acid amide hydrolase in the ventral striatum of alcoholics and suicides. (Link)

Selective deficits in the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid in the postmortem orbitofrontal cortex of patients with major depressive disorder. (Link)

Selective increase of alpha2A-adrenoceptor agonist binding sites in brains of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Serotonergic and noradrenergic neurobiology of alcoholic suicide. (Link)

Serotonergic measures in suicide brain: 5-HT1A binding sites in frontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Serotonergic measures in suicide brain: the concentration of 5-HIAA, HVA, and tryptophan in frontal cortex of suicide victims. (Link)

Serotonergic measures in the brains of suicide victims: 5-HT2 binding sites in the frontal cortex of suicide victims and control subjects. (Link)

Serotonin 1A receptors, serotonin transporter binding and serotonin transporter mRNA expression in the brainstem of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in brains of suicide victims. Comparison in chronic schizophrenic patients with suicide as cause of death. (Link)

Serotonin-1A autoreceptor binding in the dorsal raphe nucleus of depressed suicides. (Link)

Serotonin-1A receptor imaging in recurrent depression: replication and literature review. (Link)

Serotonin, 5-hydroxyindolylacetic acid and cholesterol content in blood, cerebrospinal fluid and brain areas for differentiation of suicidal from non-suicidal cause of death. (Link)

Specific binding of [3H]Ro 19-6327 (lazabemide) to monoamine oxidase B is increased in frontal cortex of suicide victims after controlling for age at death. (Link)

The hippocampus and parahippocampus in schizophrenia, suicide, and control brains. (Link)

The low affinity component of [3H]clonidine binding is absent in the prefrontal cortex of presumptive suicide victims. (Link)

The role of CREB and other transcription factors in the pharmacotherapy and etiology of depression. (Link)

The suicide brain: a review of postmortem receptor/transporter binding studies. (Link)

Through the looking glass: examining neuroanatomical evidence for cellular alterations in major depression. (Link)

Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the locus coeruleus is elevated in violent suicidal depressive patients. (Link)

Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the locus coeruleus is reduced in depressed non-suicidal patients but normal in depressed suicide patients. (Link)

Unaltered alpha(2)-noradrenergic/imidazoline receptors in suicide victims: a postmortem brain autoradiographic analysis. (Link)

Up-regulation of immunolabeled alpha2A-adrenoceptors, Gi coupling proteins, and regulatory receptor kinases in the prefrontal cortex of depressed suicides. (Link)

Upregulation of CB1 receptors and agonist-stimulated [35S]GTPgammaS binding in the prefrontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Variations in [3H]imipramine and 5-HT2A but not [3H]paroxetine binding sites in suicide brains. (Link)

Vascular and extravascular immunoreactivity for intercellular adhesion molecule 1 in the orbitofrontal cortex of subjects with major depression: age-dependent changes. (Link)

α₂-Adrenoceptor functionality in postmortem frontal cortex of depressed suicide victims. (Link)

Ongoing research in neuroscience is demonstrating that meaning in life is deeply connected to the condition of the brain. Whether people judge their lives as meaningful or not is determined by neurotransmitters and brain activity in response to genetic and environmental influences. This indicates that a sense of meaning in life is associated with certain biological states. Finding the right biological influences could help a person feel like his or her life is meaningful and valuable.

Multiple studies show that hopelessness is associated with suicidal behavior (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5, Link 6) and this is barely the tip of the research on hopelessness and suicide, although a recent study indicates insomnia may be an even stronger predictor of suicidal behavior (Link). Psychology and psychiatry have devoted great effort to predicting human behavior in a variety of areas. Developing better ways to predict and prevent suicide is an important mission.

Some of the most fascinating and useful lessons on preventing and treating depression come from postmortem studies of suicide victims. A study that conducted brain autopsies on people who committed suicide and compared their brains to a control group discovered some interesting findings. The study found reduced messenger RNA levels of BDNF and trk B in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in the brains of people who committed suicide. Another study replicated the reduced BDNF in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of suicide victims. Multiple studies (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5) show that low levels of BDNF are found in patients with depression, anxiety, and/or bipolar disorder.

Since these results were first published, elevating BDNF levels in certain parts of the brain has become a promising area of research. Vigorous exercise improves mood in depressed patients and is recommended in many books and articles about natural treatments for depression. In fact, a study shows that intense exercise raises BDNF levels. Exercise also helps normalize BDNF in patients with panic disorder (Link). Some other studies show the involvement of BDNF in treating depression. Some of these studies involve animal models of depression, but they are still useful for identifying therapies that raise BDNF and could potentially be tested in humans.

Medications:

1. Ketamine use, which has rapid antidepressant properties, is associated with elevated levels of BDNF. (Link)

2. Memantine, which has antidepressant properties, elevates levels of BDNF. (Link)

3. Agomelatine increases hippocampal BDNF and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

4. Riluzole restores hippocampal BDNF expression and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

5. Escitalopram is an antidepressant that reverses BDNF deficits. (Link)

6. Atypical antipsychotics increase BDNF levels and have antidepressant effects. (Link)

7. Venlafaxine is an antidepressant that increases BDNF levels. (Link)

8. Olanzapine increases BDNF levels and augments antidepressant treatment. (Link)

9. Lithium upregulates BDNF and treats bipolar disorder. (Link)

10. Sertraline is an antidepressant that increases BDNF. (Link)

11. Risperidone increases BDNF levels and augments antidepressant treatment. (Link)

12. Imipramine is an antidepressant that up-regulates BDNF expression. (Link)

13. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant that increases BDNF gene expression. (Link)

14. Metyrapone enhances BDNF gene expression and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

15. Rolipram normalizes BDNF levels and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

Other Psychiatric Treatments:

1. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation increases BDNF levels and has antidepressant effects. (Link)

2. Electroconvulsive therapy elevates BDNF levels and has antidepressant effects. (Link)

3. Vagal nerve stimulation activates BDNF receptors and treats depression. (Link)

Food and Lifestyle:

1. A Mediterranean diet increases BDNF levels in depressed patients. (Link)

2. Green odor elevates BDNF and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

3. Music enhances BDNF levels and improves mood. (Link)

4. Alpha-linolenic acid increases BDNF and reduces depressive behavior. (Link)

Supplements:

1. Fish oil has antidepressant effects that involve BDNF. (Link)

2. Ginsenoside prevents a stress-induced reduction in BDNF levels. (Link)

3. Hyperoside has antidepressant properties and elevates BDNF expression. (Link)

4. Magnolol restores BDNF expression and has antidepressant effects. (Link)

5. Curcumin reverses a decrease in BDNF levels and produces an antidepressant effect. (Link)

6. Zinc increases the BDNF mRNA level and has antidepressant effects. (Link)

7. Beta-alanine increases BDNF concentration and has anti-anxiety properties. (Link)

8. Flavonols enhance BDNF expression and have antidepressant properties. (Link)

9. Suyu-Jiaonang attenuates a reduction in BDNF and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

10. Ferulic acid increases BDNF mRNA and ameliorates stress-induced depressive behavior. (Link)

11. Nicotine increases BDNF levels and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

12. Polygala tenuifolia increases BDNF expression and has antidepressant effects. (Link)

13. Xiaoyaosan reverses decreases in BDNF and has antidepressant effects. (Link)

14. Piperine reverses the reduction in BDNF and has antidepressant properties. (Link)

15. Danzhi Xiaoyao powder increases BDNF levels and reduces depressive symptoms. (Link)

16. Ginkgo biloba extract increases BDNF expression and reduces the effects of stress. (Link)

17. Eugenol has antidepressant activity and induces BDNF. (Link)

Happiness and meaning in life are inseparable from biological traits. Understanding this fact opens up fascinating areas of research in preventing suicide. This is not the last word in suicide prevention. The next two posts will explore more research into neurological and genetic causes of suicide.

Epiphenom is a blog written by Dr. Tomas Rees, a biotechnology researcher and medical writer. The blog describes studies from psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and genetics in relation to religious beliefs. This post links to some of the most fascinating and informative posts on Dr. Rees’ blog. My post The Biology of Religion also links to studies of the interactions between biology and religious behavior.

2008:

When both parents are non-religious, 90% of their children are also non-religious. (Link)

People who are primed to feel lonely are more likely to become religious and anthropomorphize. (Link)

Less religious societies have lower levels of antisocial behavior. (Link)

Fundamentalists in the USA have behaviors that are not conducive to maintaining wealth. (Link)

Going to church is linked with depression in Asian and Latino children. (Link)

The right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex is linked to pain reduction in religious believers. (Link)

People who rate themselves as closer to God have had higher levels of depression in the past. (Link)

Making students more anxious makes them more likely to support religious martyrdom. (Link)

Religious people are just as likely to cheat as nonbelievers when not prompted with religious cues. (Link)

People with brain damage in the right parietal lobes score higher on a measure of spirituality. (Link)

2009:

Religiosity has a large genetic component. (Link)

Priming people with thoughts of prayer reduces their support for suicide attacks, whereas priming them with thoughts of religious attendance increases their support for suicide attacks. (Link)

Spiritual recovery is not helpful for recovering from substance abuse. (Link)

Different religious beliefs and nonbeliefs are linked with certain regions in the brain. (Link)

For men, being religious isn’t connected to better health. (Link)

Religious believers are less anxious when they make mistakes. (Link)

Religiosity is one of the strongest predictors of homophobia. (Link)

Women are more religious than men, except among those who believe in an afterlife. (Link)

Women are more superstitious than men. (Link)

Agreeableness and conscientiousness are the most consistent personality predictors of who is religious. (Link)

People who think of God in an anthropomorphic way are more judgmental of immoral actions. (Link)

People who believe in a judgmental God – as opposed to a close and loving God – have higher levels of psychosis. (Link)

Personal prayer is linked to theory of mind processing areas in the brain. (Link)

Education increases church attendance while lowering religious belief. (Link)

Southern Baptists value fairness much less than Unitarians, support authority and purity much more, and focus on avoiding harm much less. (Link)

People who are very certain that they have high morals are more likely to cheat and be tough on subordinates. (Link)

Psychology professors are the least religious professors in America, while accounting professors are the most religious. (Link)

Anxiety over loss of control can increase belief in God. (Link)

Being primed with religious information can make people more willing to take revenge. (Link)

Higher government welfare spending is linked to less religion. (Link)

People who have been made to think about death report greater levels of religious belief and more belief in God. (Link)

People who believe they are close to God but do not go to church are more likely to have an affair. (Link)

Countries with worse societal health are more religious. (Link)

Income inequality correlates strongly with religiosity in a society. (Link)

Muslims have higher levels of death anxiety than Christians and nonbelievers. (Link)

The process of evaluating religious statements is linked to emotions of disgust and pain in the brain. (Link)

Religiosity is socially transmitted. (Link)

States with more religious people have a higher teen birth rate. (Link)

Religious believers tend to rate themselves as being either very happy or very unhappy. (Link)

Income inequality and low state welfare spending are associated with more religion. (Link)

Intimacy with God is greater in people who have more neurons in an area of the brain involved with interpersonal relationships. (Link)

Uncertainty doesn’t increase religiosity if people are first made to feel good about themselves. (Link)

People invoke God to give meaning to events if those events have a moral dimension. (Link)

People project their opinions and beliefs onto God. (Link)

A high level of deference to God is linked to support for heroic end-of-life medical interventions. (Link)

2010:

Reminding people of mate competition increases religiosity. (Link)

Self-deception and image manipulation are linked to higher levels of intrinsic religiosity. (Link)

Asian Christians are more fatalistic. (Link)

Loss of function in the parietal lobes is linked to feelings of transcendence. (Link)

Countries that have high average religiosity and low average IQ have higher fertility rates. (Link)

Religiosity is linked to agreeableness and conscientiousness. (Link)

Subliminal religious prompts can make people work longer on an impossible task while feeling more anxious about it. (Link)

People who were most affected by the Indonesian financial crisis responded by becoming more religious. (Link)

Anxiety increases religious belief and religion can reduce anxiety. (Link)

Some patients with right temporal lobe atrophy (but not left temporal lobe atrophy) are hyperreligious. (Link)

People in the bottom quartile of intelligence are the most religious and people in the top quartile of intelligence are the least religious. (Link)

People who are made to feel less powerful are more susceptible to zealotry. (Link)

Priming religious people with religious thoughts reduces their error response negativity, whereas priming nonbelievers with religious thoughts increases their error response negativity. (Link)

Psychotic patients with religious delusions have more complex conditions than other psychotic patients. (Link)

People belonging to Christian groups are more supportive of the death penalty than nonbelievers are. (Link)

Active duty military personnel are less likely to be religious than other military personnel. (Link)

Maintenance of religious belief is driven by family influences, while changing religious belief is driven by genetic and environmental influences. (Link)

Portraying the government as effective reduces the strength of the belief in a controlling God. (Link)

People primed to think about religion are less likely to choose branded goods, while the least religious people are more likely to favor branded goods. (Link)

Children are more likely to be emotionally disturbed if they have weakly held religious beliefs, as opposed to no religious beliefs or strongly held religious beliefs. (Link)

Mormons can be identified by facial shape and skin tone. (Link)

Religious prejudice and racial prejudice stem from a similar affiliation mechanism. (Link)

Feelings of transcendence are linked to greater amounts of grey matter in the middle temporal gyrus and inferior parietal gyrus. (Link)

2011:

Americans say they go to church about twice as often as they actually do. (Link)

Evangelicals think Wal-Mart is a good place to work. (Link)

Boys who think religious ends justify the means have higher testosterone levels. (Link)

People who go to church more often report that they are sicker. (Link)

People who use a passive religious coping style are less likely to take their medicine. (Link)

People who report having a religious affiliation are less likely to support income redistribution. (Link)

The need to belong influences belief in God. (Link)

A religious belief characterized by intense beliefs in a clash between good and evil is a major cause of homicide. (Link)

Fear of terrorism increases faith in religion. (Link)

People with a life-changing religious experience have more hippocampal atrophy than Mainline Protestants. (Link)

Non-religious nations have a higher quality of life. (Link)

Countries where many people believe in Hell have a higher level of fear. (Link)

Tightly controlled societies are more religious. (Link)

Belief in God helps people cope with uncertainty. (Link)

In countries with high levels of inequality, the rich and poor are both more likely to be religious, with the rich being even more religious than the poor. (Link)

Countries with more income inequality have fewer atheists. (Link)

Intuitive thinkers are more likely to believe in God and immortal souls. (Link)

More religious countries have fewer property rights. (Link)

Priming authoritarians with religious information makes them more likely to obey social norms. (Link)

Christians are more likely than Jews to think that immoral thoughts alone are harmful. (Link)

Religious nations are more sexist. (Link)

Religious diversity is linked to increased unhappiness. (Link)

Widows and widowers are more religious, while divorced people are the least religious. (Link)

2012:

Prosociality in response to religious priming is affected by dopamine gene receptor variants. (Link)

Religious people prefer religious leaders who belong to any major religion. (Link)

Being near a church makes people more hostile to outsiders. (Link)

More religious metropolitan areas have better credit scores, fewer foreclosures, and fewer bankruptcies. (Link)

Death anxiety is highest in people with average religious feelings. (Link)

People with deliberate thinking styles are less likely to have religious beliefs. (Link)

Religion is linked to the belief in a just world. (Link)

Religious believers think Jesus shares their political views. (Link)

Distrust of atheists can be reduced by strengthening the belief in police effectiveness. (Link)

People think magic rituals with more steps and more repetitions are more effective. (Link)

Religious primes can help people resist temptation and delay gratification. (Link)

The Righteous Mind is a book by Dr. Jonathan Haidt, a professor from the University of Virginia known for his research on morality and his TED talks. This post has some notes from the book featuring the results of studies cited in the book.

• Research in Philadelphia and Brazil found that lower-class groups moralized more than upper-class groups.

• Patients who suffer brain damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex have difficulty expressing emotions and making decisions.

• Research found that people made the same moral judgments whether they were dealing with a heavy or light cognitive load.

• A study found that people generated more reasons when explaining their judgments against harmless taboos.

• A study showed that people judged stories to be more disgusting and morally wrong when they contained a code word that they had previously been hypnotized to feel disgust towards.

• A study where subjects viewed photos of political candidates with no other information found that the candidate who looked more competent went on to win the election two-thirds of the time.

• An experiment showed that people made harsher moral judgments when they were next to a smelly trash can.

• An experiment showed that people become more moralistic after washing their hands with soap.

• An experiment showed that people expressed more conservative political attitudes when filling out surveys near a hand sanitizer dispenser.

• fMRI studies show that high activity in emotional processing areas of the brain correlate with the moral judgments people eventually make.

• A study that asked people to reflect on an argument in favor of a moral taboo for several minutes made them more receptive to the taboo idea.

• A study showed that self-esteem fell in response to criticism from an anonymous critic, even in people who claimed they didn’t care what other people thought.

• A study showed that IQ predicted how well people argued for their own side, but not how well they contemplated other arguments.

• A study showed that people were three times more likely to be honest when directly asked about overpayment in a task.

• An experiment that had subjects read a fictitious study linking caffeine and breast cancer, women who were heavy coffee drinkers argued there were more flaws in the study than women who didn’t drink coffee.

• A neuroimaging study found that showing political partisans information about their own candidate’s hypocrisy activated a network of emotion-related brain areas, but no increased activity in the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (the main area associated with reasoning). After seeing an example of hypocrisy from a disliked candidate, the ventral striatum had increased activity, which is associated with feelings of pleasure.

• A study found that students at an American public university (Penn State) were the only group out of twelve groups where a majority overrode their first objections to a harmless taboo.

• Six hundred interview transcripts from a study of morality in India showed that there were three major clusters of moral themes: autonomy, community, and divinity.

• Data from more than 130,000 subjects on a survey of morality found that people on the political left endorse Care and Fairness, while people on the political right endorse all five moral foundations (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity) fairly equally.

• An EEG study showed that the brains of people on the political left showed more surprise in response to sentences that rejected Care and Fairness concerns, as well as more surprise in response to sentences that endorsed Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity concerns.

• A study involving an economic game showed that 84 percent of players chose to punish another player at least once, which led to increased cooperation.

• A study showed that professors on the political left give out a narrower range of grades than professors on the political right.

• A study involving an economic game showed that players’ brains responded in the same way to seeing an altruistic player being shocked as if they were shocked themselves, while they showed neural evidence of pleasure when seeing a selfish player getting shocked.

• People cheat on tests less when first asked to unscramble sentences that include words related to God.

• An analysis showed that 39 percent of religious communes were still functioning twenty years after their founding, compared to just 6 percent of secular communes.

• Moralistic high gods emerged along with agriculture in the last 10,000 years.

• Research shows that people in the least religious fifth of the population give just 1.5 percent of their money to charity, while the most religious fifth of the population gives 7 percent of their income to charity.

• A study found that the factor most associated with the moral benefits of religion was the amount of friendship and group activities shared with co-religionists.

• Genetics explains somewhere between a third and a half of the variability in political attitudes.

• An analysis of DNA from 13,000 Australians found genes that differed between people on the political left and the political right.

• A review paper showed that personality factors relating to threat sensitivity or openness to experience explain the difference between people on the political right and political left.

• A study showed that people on the political left were less accurate in describing the motivations of people on the political right than vice versa.

• Several studies indicate that the switch from leaded to unleaded gasoline may have been responsible for up to half of the drop in crime that occurred in the 1990s.

• An analysis of surveys completed by 12,000 libertarians showed that they had very low scores on the Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, and Care foundations and very high scores on questions about economic liberty.

The Moral Molecule is a book by Dr. Paul Zak, a professor at Claremont Graduate University. This post has notes from the book featuring results of studies cited in the book.

• An experiment showed that subjects’ oxytocin levels were 50 percent higher when they received transfers of money based on someone’s decision to trust them.

• A study where patients received a massage and then received money from someone who chose to trust them showed that the willingness to reciprocate by giving money back increased by 243 percent.

• A study showed that oxytocin levels increased 47 percent in people who watched an emotionally moving video.

• A study using fMRI showed that subjects’ brains responded to images of people being harmed as if they themselves were being harmed.

• A study found that males were 27 percent less generous in an economic game after being infused with testosterone.

• An experiment showed that DHT became elevated in males after receiving an unfair offer in an economic game.

• A study showed that reward areas in the brains of males were activated when they observed non-cooperative game partners receiving a shock.

• A study found that women became less trusting after receiving small doses of testosterone.

• A study showed that using the word “partner” to describe a person led to 68 percent of people trusting that person, compared to only 33 percent when the word “opponent” was used.

• A study in the Caribbean showed that testosterone levels were higher when men played opponents from a neighboring village in a game of dominoes, compared to opponents from their own village.

• A brain imaging study of abuse victims showed that the amygdala was disengaged in people who had experienced trauma.

• A study showed that people with continually high levels of oxytocin were frequent nonreciprocators.

• A study found that children with autism have lower levels of oxytocin in their blood.

• An experiment involving the Ultimatum Game showed that 28 percent of participants with autism offered nothing, compared to only 3 percent of people from the control group.

• An experiment showed that autism increased emotional accuracy in men with high scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient.

• A study found that people with social anxiety disorder had a much higher baseline level of oxytocin.

• Research shows that undergraduates majoring in economics (but not other academic majors) become less trusting and less generous in experiments as they progress from being freshman to being seniors.

• A study showed that four weeks of compassion meditation training led to a 33 percent increase in trust.

• An economic experiment found that evangelical Christians had stress levels 28 percent higher than the control group.

• An analysis of blood from tribespeople in Papua New Guinea found that they had very low levels of stress hormones.

• An analysis of data from 32 hunter-gatherer tribes showed that fewer than 10 percent of the members in each group were closely related.

• An analysis of data from the World Values Survey showed that tolerance and trust increase along with the average income in a country.

• A test in South Korea showed that oxytocin increased when people were using social networking sites.

• A study showed that subliminal images of money make people less helpful and less social.

• An experiment involving 130 volunteers found that oxytocin led to more trust in civic institutions, including government.

• An analysis of data from 6,800 people in 33 countries found that societies that come under threat become less tolerant.

• An analysis of 85 different variables showed that the strongest correlation was between happiness and trust.

• An experiment found that participants with the largest surge in oxytocin were the most trusting, reported greater satisfaction with life, reported greater resilience, had better romantic relationships, had more friends, and had lower levels of depression.

• An experiment conducted in a Seventh-day Adventist community found that the people who released the most oxytocin were the least religious.

The Self Illusion is a book written by Dr. Bruce Hood, psychology professor at the University of Bristol. This post has some notes from the book featuring the results of studies cited in the book.

• Research shows that face recognition is localized in the fusiform gyrus.

• Children born with cataracts still have trouble recognizing faces after their vision is surgically corrected.

• Brain imaging studies show that the nucleus accumbens (reward center) is activated when mothers look at pictures of their own baby.

• A study of bowlers showed that players smiled only 4% of the time after a good score when they were facing away from their friends, but smiled 42% of the time when they faced their friends.

• Research shows that when girls reach puberty, they prefer to look at pictures of babies, while before they preferred to look at other pictures.

• Experiments involving people who received Botox injections show that they are not as good at reading other people’s emotional expressions after the procedure.

• Brain imaging research shows that people with mirror-touch synesthesia exhibit overactivity in the mirror neuron system and anterior insula.

• A study found that people could recognize pictures 17 years after having originally seen them.

• Neuroimaging studies show that the frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex work differently in people with autism.

• A neuroimaging study found that the adolescent prefrontal cortex is hyperactive when reflecting on concepts about their own self.

• A study that disguised the same child as either a girl or a boy showed that adults praised the child’s beauty when told it was a girl, and they talked about the child’s future occupation when told it was a boy.

• Mothers tend to discuss emotional problems with their daughters more than with their sons.

• An experiment involving a visit to a science museum found that parents were three times more likely to explain the exhibits to the boys than to the girls.

• Research shows that by 2 years of age, boys a more physically aggressive than girs. This difference continues throughout their development.

• A study in New Zealand found that more than 80% of males with a missing MAOA gene and a history of childhood maltreatment went on to develop antisocial behaviors.

• Neuroimaging research on psychopathic murderers show that they have abnormalities in the orbital cortex.

• A study found that the ability to delay gratification at 4 years of age was linked to more success at age 27.

• An experiment found that brain activity exhibited an intention to press a button before the subject was aware of his or her decision to press the button.

• Brain imaging research can use brain activity to predict which of two buttons a subject will press 7 seconds before they press it.

• Patients with environmental dependency syndrome copy another person’s behavior.

• Patients with utilization behavior exhibit an involuntary response when seeing a certain object.

• Removing an individual’s perception of control generates anxiety that impairs the immune system and the ability to think.

• Neuroimaging research shows that activity in the corticobasal ganglia network is higher in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• A study found that participants who were told to control their emotions during a horror movie drank 50% more alcohol afterwards than the group who were allowed to express their emotions.

• A study found that glucose levels are lowered during ego-depleting tasks.

• A study found that subjects who drank a sugary drink were less stressed after reading about death.

• A study found that people who monitored and controlled their posture for two weeks performed better on experiments that involved self-control.

• Research shows that broadening your shoulders and clenching your fists increases testosterone levels.

• Research shows that the belief in free will predicts better job performance and more career success.

• Research shows that perceived control reduces activity in the pain centers of the brain.

• Research shows that receiving ownership of an object enhances P300 brain activity.

• Experiments show that people place greater value on objects once they own them.

• Neuroimaging research has found increased activation of the nucleus accumbens when looking at a desired product.

• Neuroimaging research shows that activity in the insula can predict how much people value an object they own.

• People prefer objects that other people are looking at.

• A study found that looking at staring eyes led to increased pupil dilation.

• A study found that social exclusion in a game activated the anterior cingulate cortex in the brain.

• A study found that people who had been rejected by colleagues were more likely to eat cookies afterwards.

• A study showed that people who had been ostracized retaliated more against an innocent bystander.

• Neuroimaging research shows that a discrepancy between an individual’s opinion and group opinion triggers activation in brain regions associated with social cognition and reward evaluation.

• A study that involved shocking puppies found that half of all the male participants and all of the female participants obeyed orders to administer the maximum shock.

• A study found that mothers in the USA were more likely to focus their child’s attention on certain attributes of a toy, while mothers in Japan were more likely to participate in exchange games with their child.

• Research shows that administering propranolol immediately after a traumatic event reduces later symptoms of PTSD.

• A study of a patient with dissociative identity disorder who claimed to be blind found that electrical measurements of the visual cortex showed activity when experiencing a sighted personality and no activity when experiencing a blind personality.

• A study found that the DRD2 gene predicted similarity in clusters of friends, while the CYP2A6 gene increased the tendency to associate with people who have different interests.

• A study found that risky driving increased by 50% in teenagers when friends were present.

• Research shows that rats with electrodes implanted in the pleasure center will pursue stimulation to the point of starvation.

The Other Side of Normal is a book written by Dr. Jordan Smoller, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. This post has some notes from the book featuring the results of studies cited in the book.

• Research shows that more than half of all Americans meet the criteria for a psychiatric disorder at some point in their lives.

• An analysis found that between 1994 and 2003 the rate of pediatric bipolar disorder increased fortyfold.

• A study found that two weeks and three months after the birth, more than 70 percent of parents were preoccupied with the safety of their babies, and 25 to 40 percent of parents had thoughts about doing harm to the baby.

• A study found that the brains of new parents showed activation in fear centers that correlated with OCD-like symptoms upon hearing recordings of their infant’s cries.

• Research shows that brain regions associated with disgust activate in individuals with OCD and contamination fears when shown pictures of dirty objects.

• A neuroimaging study showed that the anterior insula was activated when viewing images of other people expressing disgust.

• A longitudinal study showed that children who had a high reactive temperament were more likely to be socially avoidant in adolescence and adulthood.

• A neuroimaging study found that adults who had been inhibited as infants had a much stronger amygdala response to pictures of unfamiliar faces.

• A longitudinal study showed that people with high reactive temperaments in infancy had thicker brain tissue in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex, while people with low reactive temperaments in infancy had thicker brain tissue in the left orbitofrontal cortex.

• Brain imaging studies show that people with high levels of social phobia have exaggerated responses in the amygdala or medial prefrontal cortex.

• A study involving nearly 1,000 children into adulthood found that children who were undercontrolled at age three were more likely to engage in dangerous behaviors as adults.

• Research shows that inhibited children are more likely to be bullied.

• A personality survey of more than 600,000 Americans showed that neuroticism levels were high on the East Coast and extraversion levels were high in the Midwest. Agreeableness levels were high in the Midwest and the South.

• Twin studies show that the heritability of temperamental and personality traits is 40 to 60 percent.

• Multiple studies, including neuroimaging studies, show that a variation in the SLC6A4 gene is linked to fearfulness.

• A study found that children with specific variants of the RGS2 gene were three times more likely to be shy.

• A neuroimaging study showed that adults carrying certain variants of the RGS2 gene had a stronger response in the amygdala and insula.

• Studies have found that SSRIs reduce activity in brain circuits that have been linked to anxiety and neuroticism.

• A study found that abused children were able to identify an angry face much sooner than other children.

• A study found that orphaned children who remained institutionalized by age four and a half were nearly three times more likely to have depression or anxiety disorders than children who were adopted.

• A study found that infants whose mothers were depressed during the third trimester had increased DNA methylation of the NR3C1 gene.

• A study found increased methylation in the NR3C1 gene in brain tissue of suicide victims with a history of abuse.

• A study of twins found that face recognition ability is almost entirely due to genetic influences.

• A study found that the temporoparietal junction is engaged when people think about another person’s mind.

• A study of children in South Korea found that more than 1 in 40 have an autism spectrum disorder.

• Research shows that the risk of autism and schizophrenia is higher in children born to older parents.

• A study of people with Asperger’s syndrome found that they had less activity in the temporoparietal junction.

• Research shows that relatives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders have more autistic-like traits.

• A face-mapping study found that the facial expression of disgust is the inverse of the facial expression of fear.

• A fMRI study found that a certain network of brain areas activates when people observe facial expressions or watch a loved one experience pain.

• A study showed that patients with damage to the inferior frontal gyrus had severe deficits in emotional empathy.

• A study showed that patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex performed poorly on false belief tasks.

• Neuroimaging research shows that individuals with psychopathy have small and underactive amygdalae.

• Research on criminal psychopaths show that they have emotion recognition deficits similar to patients with brain damage to the orbitofrontal cortex.

• Twin studies show that genetic variations account for nearly two-thirds of individual differences in psychopathy.

• A study found that up to 30 percent of people in the U.K. exhibited some psychopathic traits, though less than 2 percent reached the clinical threshold for psychopathy.

• 30 to 60 percent of oncologists experience emotional exhaustion and burnout.

• Brain imaging studies of women show that smiling babies and cute babies activate the brain’s reward system.

• A study found that men with a variant of the AVPR1A gene were more likely to be unmarried or have major marital problems.

• An experiment found that couples who inhaled oxytocin had more positive interactions and lower cortisol levels.

• A neuroimaging study showed that romantic love and maternal love both activated brain regions rich in oxytocin and vasopressin receptors and brain regions involved in reward processing.

• Research shows that people with borderline personality disorder have improvement rates of up to 85 percent by ten years after therapy.

• Twin studies show that genetic variations account for 35 to 70 percent of the risk of developing borderline personality disorder.

• Brain imaging research shows that people with borderline personality disorder have overactive amygdala and limbic region when viewing emotional faces.

• A study found that people with borderline personality disorder were more accurate at reading the mental states of people in photographs.

• Research shows that up to 90 percent of people with borderline personality disorder have childhood histories of abuse and neglect.

• Studies have found that inhaling oxytocin improves the ability of people with autistic spectrum disorders to recognize emotional cues.

• Research shows that patients with amygdala damage view others as more trustworthy and approachable.

• Research has found that mothers and aunts of gay men have more children than those of straight men.

• A study of more than 7,500 twins found that the heritability of same-sex sexual behavior was 34 to 39 percent in males and 18 to 19 percent in females.

• Research has found that looking at beautiful faces engages brain reward circuitry in the nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex.

• A fMRI study found that the brain reward centers of heterosexual women and gay men were activated more by attractive male faces, while brain reward regions of lesbian women and heterosexual men were activated more by attractive female faces.

• A study of 3,369 older women found that those who had recently experienced a panic attack were twice as likely to die over the following five years.

• Neuroimaging studies show that people with anxiety disorders have abnormalities in the amygdala, insula, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus.

• Neuroimaging studies have found abnormalities in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in people with PTSD.

• Twin studies have shown that the heritability of anxiety disorders ranges from 25 percent to 45 percent.

• A study found that people with a variant in the BDNF gene had reduced activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and increased activity in the amygdala.

• A twin study of Vietnam veterans found that the heritability of experiencing combat-related trauma was 35 to 47 percent.

• A study found that being a victim of assault had a heritability of 20 percent.

• A study showed that administering propranolol immediately after a traumatic event led to fewer stress responses when recalling the event three months later.

• Multiple studies show that d-cycloserine can help in treating multiple anxiety disorders.

Almost a Psychopath is written by Dr. Ronald Schouten of Harvard Medical School, with former federal prosecutor James Silver. This post has some notes from the book featuring the results of studies cited in the book.

• A study found that psychopaths who started taking antidepressant medication exhibited less impulsivity but became more socially manipulative.

• Neuroimaging research links amygdala dysfunctions to the lack of empathy in psychopaths.

• An experiment found that psychopaths had decreased brain activity when viewing fearful faces (compared to increased brain activity in the control group).

• A study of female psychopaths found that the subjects performed poorly at recognizing sad faces and responded less to angry faces.

• A study found that subjects with strong psychopathy traits released nearly four times as much dopamine in response to amphetamine as those who had lower psychopathy scores.

• A study using fMRI found that the nucleus accumbens, which is associated with dopamine rewards, was much more active in subjects with high psychopathy scores.

• Research shows that 25 to 30 percent of male prison inmates meet the criteria for psychopathy.

• A study found that murderers who were psychopathic were more likely to have committed premeditated murder than murderers who were not psychopathic.

• Research shows that psychopaths are more likely to end up in prison again than nonpsychopaths.

• Research shows that psychopaths are four times more likely to violently reoffend than nonpsychopaths.

• A study of convicted murderers found that psychopaths used a greater number of cause-and-effect words when discussing their murders and used nearly twice as many words related to their own specific needs.

• Studies found rates of subclinical psychopathy of 5 to 15 percent in student populations in the United States and Sweden.

• A case report showed that a cholinesterase inhibitor in tick powder led to increased aggression in a cat and its owner.

• Research shows that aggression can develop in people who have experienced brain injuries.

• Research shows that boys with psychopathic tendencies express less fear and less empathy than subjects in control groups.

• Research found that people with higher scores on psychopathy scales are less likely to think humans and animals have the capacity for pain and pleasure.

• A study found that psychopathy had the strongest causal connection to perpetrating intimate partner violence.

• A study found that people with higher scores on the psychopathy scale SRP-III were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and obtain sex by coercion such as aggression and the use of drugs.

• A longitudinal study over 20 years found that conduct disorder in adolescence, exposure to family violence, and excessive punishment were associated with an increased risk of committing partner violence in adulthood.

• A study showed that children with more callous and unemotional traits maintained less eye contact with parents.

• A study found that both genetic and environmental influences were linked to psychopathy in children and adolescents.

• A study of college students found that psychopathy predicted heavy drinking.

• A study showed that girls with impulse control issues and callous unemotional personality traits are more likely to be classified as psychopaths in adulthood.

• An analysis found that histrionic personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder were more common in business executives than in criminal psychiatric patients. Eight personality disorders (antisocial, borderline, dependent, passive-aggressive, paranoid, schizotypal, schizoid, and avoidant) were more common in criminal psychiatric patients than in business executives.

• A study of 272 undergraduates found that students with psychopathic tendencies were more likely to respond unethically in a business setting.