EEG testing shows possible biomarker for suicidal ideation

Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of suicidal ideation and identifying biomarkers could help doctors identify those at risk and researchers develop effective interventions.

Although studies using functional MRI (fMRI) have connected suicidal ideation with dysfunction in neuronal networks in the brain, the high cost of fMRI prevents it from being used as a clinical tool for assessing suicide risk.

Searching for alternatives, researchers led by Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern, tested electroencephalography (EEG), a much less expensive brain-scanning tool, on 111 volunteers ages 10–26 who had a history or current diagnosis of depressive or bipolar disorder.

Their results, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, showed dysfunction in the brain’s default mode network in those who tested positive for suicidal ideation on the Concise Health Risk Tracking survey.

The researchers suggest EEG could offer an accurate, accessible method to test patients for suicidal ideation.