Understanding and treating the factors associated with these perception abnormalities could prevent at least a quarter of suicide attempts and deaths – ScienceDaily



[ad_1]

Researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland) have revealed that a quarter of suicide attempts are badociated with a malfunction in the way the brain interprets basic perceptual information, such as what we see, hear and think. Research shows that this dysfunction predicts suicidal behavior and offers new opportunities for suicide treatment and prevention. The research was published today in JAMA psychiatry.

Symptoms such as depressed mood, feeling of worthlessness and feeling of hopelessness are well documented in suicidal behaviors. However, in an badysis of more than 80,000 people, new research found that one-quarter of those who attempted suicide or who died by suicide had problems with basic sensory experiences, such as depression. hear or see things that do not really exist – in other words, "perception anomalies".

According to this study, such episodes are not necessarily badociated with psychotic illnesses or depression and can occur in people who do not suffer from mental illness.

Research conducted over the past 15 years has shown that experiences such as "hearing voices" are much more common than previously thought – about 5-7% of the general population report having at least occasionally experiences such as hearing voices. For some people, these experiences occur when the brain is stressed or when the levels of adaptation are exceeded.

Dr. Ian Kelleher, Research Fellow for Psychiatry at RCSI and Head of the Study, commented, "Our research shows that if we could understand and treat the factors badociated with these perceptual abnormalities, we could prevent at least one One-quarter of all suicide attempts and deaths – 1 million people commit suicide each year – this is a very encouraging prospect for suicide prevention. "

"These findings point to the need for clinicians to pay special attention to patients reporting a psychotic experience experience, as well as increased funding for research aimed at recognizing a subtype of psychotic suicide. ", added Dr. Kelleher.

Kathryn Yates, psychiatrist of RCSI and co-author of the study, said, "If we want to understand suicide, we need to know a lot more about the abnormalities of perception." How do these experiences relate to biological and social factors, factors involved in the risk of suicide There are still many unresolved issues, but this research opens new avenues for improving behavioral prediction. suicidal. "

The paper, Psychotic Experiences and the Risk of Suicidal Ideas, Suicide Attempts and Suicides: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Population Studies, is published in JAMA psychiatry.

Source of the story:

Material provided by Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI). Note: Content can be changed for style and length.

[ad_2]
Source link