Year: 2000 Source: Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2000. p.65-77 SIEC No: 20010023

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.)