Executive Performance of Depressed Suicide Attempters: the Role of Suicidal Ideation

This study further investigated the role of suicidal thinking for the neuropsychological performance in depressive suicide attempers. Depressive inpatients after a recent suicide attempt, who either had present suicide ideation (14 subjects) or not (15 subjects) & 29 healthy controls were recruited. The groups were assessed by means of executive tasks designed to capture impulsive decision-making, & with verbal memory & attention tests. Self-rating measures of impulsivity & aggression were further applied. Only patients with current suicide ideation showed executive dysfunctions with impaired decision-making being the most salient. Results suggest that executive deficits seen in depressive suicide attempters have a state-dependent component. (59 refs.) JA