A social neuroscience perspective on suicidal behavior

Abstract

Suicidal behavior is social in nature in many cases. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of the suicidal crisis and the occurrence of suicidal acts will benefit from using the tools of social neuroscience. In this chapter, we will briefly review some results. First, suicidal acts have been associated with deficient biochemical systems, notably the serotonergic system and the stress system, both being strongly implicated in social interactions. Second, several neurocognitive deficits have been recently showed including impaired decision- making, reduced cognitive control, and deficient memory. These defi- cits have been related to a dysfunctional network of brain regions including the orbitofrontal cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In an integrated view, we propose that one basic alteration increasing the risk of suicidal acts is a defi- cient valuation process. More generally, suicidal behavior may reflect a breach in social homeostasis.