Chapter
Biological Aspects of Suicidal Behaviour (IN: The International Handbook of Suicide and Attempted Suicide, edited by K Hawton & K van Heeringen)
Traskman-Bendz L~~Mann J J
This chapter reviews 3 major lines of evidence for an association between biology & suicidal behaviour: evidence of a correlation between altered serotonergic activity & suicide attempts; altered serotonergic activity & suicide; & a genetic contribution to the risk of suicide, independently of the genetic predisposition to psychiatric disorders associated with greater suicide risk. Evidence suggests a common biological substrate underlies the propensity for aggression & suicide which holds true across psychiatric diagnoses. (61 refs.)