In vivo neuroimaging research in suicide attempters has shown alterations in frontal system brain regions subserving emotional regulation, motivation, and self-perception; however, data from living individuals is limited in clarifying risk for suicide death. Postmortem neuroimaging provides an approach to study the brain in persons who died by suicide. Here, whole brain voxel-based analyses of magnetic resonance imaging gray matter volume measures were performed comparing persons confirmed by forensic investigation to have died by suicide (n = 24), versus other causes (n = 24), in a univariate model covarying for age and total brain volume; all subjects were scanned within 24 hours after death. Consistent with the hypothesis that persons who died by suicide would show lower gray matter volume in frontal system brain regions, this study of suicides showed lower gray matter volume in ventral frontal and its major connection sites including insula, striatum, and amygdala.

对自杀未遂者的体内神经影像研究表明，额叶系统大脑区域发生了变化，有助于情绪调节、动机和自我感知；然而，来自在世个体的数据在阐明自杀死亡风险方面有限。死后神经影像学提供了一种研究自杀死亡者大脑的方法。在这里，对磁共振成像灰质体积测量进行基于全脑体素的分析，在单变量模型中，将法医调查确认的自杀死亡者 (n = 24) 与其他原因死亡者 (n = 24) 进行比较年龄和脑总体积；所有受试者均在死亡后 24 小时内接受扫描。与自杀死亡者额叶系统大脑区域灰质体积较低的假设一致，这项自杀研究显示腹侧额叶及其主要连接部位（包括岛叶、纹状体和杏仁核）灰质体积较低。