Abstract
The increasing number of suicidal victims all over the world is a major concern. There are three neurobiological systems involved in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior: dysfunction of the serotonergic system, hyperactivity of the noradrenergic system, and increased activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis appear to be involved. Increasing evidence points to an overlap between neurobiological and cognitive psychological approaches to understanding suicidal behavior. The authors reviewed the molecular genetics of suicidal behavior. A better understanding of the neurobiology of suicide can help detect at-risk populations and help develop better treatment interventions. Because suicide continues to be a major public health problem, further studies are necessary, including research on the effects of combined medical and psychosocial approaches.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Mann JJ (2003) Neurobiology of suicidal behavior. Nat Rev Neurosci 4:819–828
Brent DA, Mann JJ (2005) Family genetic studies, suicide, and suicidal behavior. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 133:13–24
Roy A, Segal NL (2001) Suicidal behavior in twins: a replication. J Affect Disord 66:71–74
Bondy B, Buettner A, Zill P (2006) Genetics of suicide. Mol Psychiatry 11:336–351
Ono H, Shirakawa O, Nishiguchi N et al (2000) Tryptophan hydroxylase gene polymorphisms are not associated with suicide. Am J Med Genet 96:861–863
Ono H, Shirakawa O, Nishiguchi N et al (2001) Serotonin 2A receptor gene polymorphism is not associated with completed suicide. J Psychiatr Res 35:173–176
Nishiguchi N, Shirakawa O, Ono H et al (2001) No evidence of an association between 5HT1B receptor gene polymorphism and suicide victims in a Japanese population. Am J Med Genet 105:343–345
Ono H, Shirakawa O, Kitamura N et al (2002) Tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity is altered by the genetic variation in postmortem brain samples of both suicide victims and controls. Mol Psychiatry 7:1127–1132
Nishiguchi N, Shirakawa O, Ono H et al (2002) Lack of an association between 5-HT1A receptor gene structural polymorphisms and suicide victims. Am J Med Genet 114:423–425
Ono H, Shirakawa O, Nishiguchi N et al (2002) No evidence of an association between a functional monoamine oxidase a gene polymorphism and completed suicides. Am J Med Genet 114:340–342
Okamura K, Shirakawa O, Nishiguchi N et al (2005) Lack of an association between 5-HT6 receptor gene polymorphisms and suicide victims. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 59:345–349
Anguelova M, Benkelfat C, Turecki G (2003) A systematic review of association studies investigating genes coding for serotonin receptors and the serotonin transporter: II. Suicidal behavior. Mol Psychiatry 8:646–653
Hattori H, Shirakawa O, Nishiguchi N et al (2006) No evidence of an association between tyrosine hydroxylase gene polymorphisms and suicide victims. Kobe J Med Sci 52:195–200
Fukutake M, Hishimoto A, Nishiguchi N et al (2008) Association of α2A-aderenergic receptor gene polymorphism with susceptibility to suicide in Japanese females. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 32:1428–1433
Ono H, Shirakawa O, Nushida H et al (2004) Association between catechol-O-methyltransferase functional polymorphism and male suicide completers. Neuropsychopharmacology 29:1374–1377
Hishimoto A, Cui H, Mouri K et al (2008) A functional polymorphism of the μ-opioid receptor gene is associated with completed suicides. J Neural Transm 115:531–536
Hishimoto A, Shirakawa O, Nishiguchi N et al (2006) Association between a functional polymorphism in the renin-angiotensin system and completed suicide. J Neural Transm 113:1915–1920
Cui H, Nishiguchi N, Ivleva E et al (2008) Association of RGS2 gene polymorphisms with suicide and increased RGS2 immunoreactivity in the postmortem brain of suicide victims. Neuropsychopharmacology 33:1537–1544
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Maeda, K., Shirakawa, O., Nishiguchi, N., Fukutake, M. (2010). The Molecular Genetics of Suicide. In: Miyoshi, K., Morimura, Y., Maeda, K. (eds) Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53871-4_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53871-4_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-53870-7
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-53871-4
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)