The Neuroscience of Suicidal Behavior (Cambridge Fundamentals of Neuroscience in Psychology)

Nearly one million people take their own lives each year world-wide - however, contrary to popular belief, suicide can be prevented. While suicide is commonly thought to be an understandable reaction to severe stress, it is actually an abnormal reaction to regular situations. Something more than unbearable stress is needed to explain suicide, and neuroscience shows what this is, how it is caused and how it can be treated. Professor Kees van Heeringen describes findings from neuroscientific research on suicide, using various approaches from population genetics to brain imaging. Compelling evidence is reviewed that shows how and why genetic characteristics or early traumatic experiences may lead to a specific predisposition that makes people vulnerable to triggering life events. Neuroscientific studies are yielding results that provide insight into how the risk of suicide may develop; ultimately demonstrating how suicide can be prevented. Frontmatter Dedication Contents Figures Tables Preface What Is Suicidal Behavior, and Can It Be Prevented- (Chapter One) Stress, Vulnerability, and Suicide (Chapter Two) The Dark Side of the Brain (Chapter Three) Lethal Signals (Chapter Four) I Think, Therefore I Do Not Want to Be (Chapter Five) Images of the Suicidal Brain (Chapter Six) 揑n my end is my beginning? (Chapter Seven I Predict, Therefore I Cannot Be (Chapter Eight) Predicting the Unpredictable (Chapter Nine) The Treatment of Suicide Risk (Chapter Ten) Glossary References Index Colour Plates This book offers an accessible account of the neuroscience behind suicidal behavior and its potential for prevention. Neuroscience opens up opportunities to dispel myths that continue to hinder suicide prevention by helping people to understand suicide and providing effective prevention methods. "Crucial aspects of the story of Valerie will be discussed in this book. We will learn from intriguing brain imaging studies how reactions to angry faces may constitute a vulnerability to suicidal behavior"-- Provided by publisher