Serotonin, suicide, and aggression: clinical studies.
Both suicidal and aggressive, impulsive behaviors have been linked to putative dysregulation in central serotonergic systems. We review data examining the role of serotonin (5-HT) in suicide from postmortem studies and clinical investigations of suicide attempters, including our own preliminary work derived from neuroendocrine challenges with the 5-HT uptake inhibitor clomipramine. Various approaches to the study of 5-HT and aggressive, impulsive behavior, including cerebrospinal fluid studies, investigations of peripheral measures of 5-HT, and neuroendocrine studies utilizing 5-HT probes, are highlighted. Several important caveats, including the challenge of quantifying "suicidality" and "aggression" in reliable and valid ways, should be considered in interpreting the results of clinical studies of 5-HT and suicide and aggression.
Golden
R N
RN
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.
Gilmore
J H
JH
Corrigan
M H
MH
Ekstrom
R D
RD
Knight
B T
BT
Garbutt
J C
JC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D012701:Serotonin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology
D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid