Suicide and attempted suicide

Accurate prediction of suicide risk remains a challenge, in its prevention. Many people with psychiatric disorders do not manifest suicidal behaviour, suggesting the importance of diathesis, or susceptibility to suicide, in addition to associated disorders. At present there are no biomarkers to predict suicidal behaviour. The authors of this article have attempted to describe the neurobiology of suicide. To do so, they have reviewed the literature from 1990 onwards, using the keywords suicide, neurobiology, genetics and neuroimaging. Based on their findings, the authors go on to discuss the stress-diathesis model of suicide, which posits that suicide is a result of interactions between state-dependent (environmental) stressors and trait-like diathesis (or susceptibility to suicidal behaviour), independent of psychiatric disorders.