https://goo.gl/kx3L3TThe problem is, many people hide it well. Among those who’ve completed the act, 80% denied such thoughts at their last visit with a mental health professional. Because of this, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University wondered if they could find an objective way to detect such thoughts, by picking up the brain activity patterns that coincide with them.
The need is great. 44,000 Americans commit suicide each year, and it’s the second leading cause of death among young adults. Having an objective way to measure for such thoughts could help us develop more effective intervention methods.
Using a machine learning algorithm and an MRI scanner, Carnegie Mellon University researchers believe they’ve isolated the brain signature for suicidal thoughts. The scientists found they could predict who was thinking about suicide with 91% accuracy. They could even separate who’d attempted suicide previously and who had just thought about it. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Human Behavior.
It’s very important to note that this was a very small sample size. Certainly a larger scale study must be conducted before these findings are considered firm. Still, they’re compelling.
Those with suicidal thoughts tended to register different readings when death-related words came up, just as suspected. The areas of the brain affected included the left superior medial frontal area and the medial frontal/anterior cingulate. These regions are responsible for thinking about one’s self.
Dr. Just told
New Atlas, "People with suicidal thoughts experience different emotions when they think about some of the test concepts. For example, the concept of 'death' evoked more shame and more sadness in the group that thought about suicide. This extra bit of understanding may suggest an avenue to treatment that attempts to change the emotional response to certain concepts." The study was even able to detect with 94% accuracy the nine suicidal ideators who had made a suicide attempt in the past from the eight who had not.