The investigation of biological correlates of suicidal behavior is important for identifying high-risk subjects. The objective of this study was to examine the neurochemical variables' platelet MAO activity and urinary MHPG, 5HIAA and HVA, the main metabolites of noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that are considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior, as well as plasma cortisol, in a group of subjects with adjustment disorder after a suicide attempt. Fifty-three patients, 42 females and 11 males, were included in the study and were compared to a group of 50 healthy controls, 25 females and 25 males. Platelet MAO activity was found to be significantly lower in both male and female patients compared to controls of the same sex (P < 0. 001 for both comparisons). 5HIAA and HVA were not different between patients and controls, but MHPG was significantly higher in the patients group (P = 0.008). Moreover, plasma levels of cortisol were significantly higher in the patients compared to the controls (P < 0. 001). Our results confirm the hypothesis of low platelet MAO activity as a biological characteristic of patients who attempt suicide. They also point to a possible parallel activation of the noradrenergic system.

with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. For the facial expression recognition task, 56 faces were taken from the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF; Lundqvist et al., 1998), which included 4 pictures of faces (2 male and 2 female) for each of the six basic emotions (sadness, anger, happiness, fear, disgust, surprise), in addition to 4 photos of faces with neutral expressions. Participants were asked to choose the emotion that corresponded with the face. Results: Analysis of variance (ANOVAs) revealed significant differences between schizophrenic patients and normal controls in terms of KDEF performance. Correlations were observed between KDEF performance and the Positive and Cognitive dimensions of the PANSS. Finally, independent t-tests were performed for scores for the specific emotional expressions of the KDEF, which revealed significant differences between the two groups for joy and surprise. Conclusions: Results reveal that schizophrenic patients present facial expression recognition deficits compared to normal controls, in particular with the emotions joy and surprise. Furthermore, these deficits are specifically associated with the presence of positive and cognitive symptoms.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract