The Neuroscience of Suicidal Behavior

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.

Author: Kees Van Heeringen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 08/23/2018
Pages: 286
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.36lbs
Size: 9.26h x 6.41w x 0.76d
ISBN: 9781107148949

About the Author
Van Heeringen, Kees: - Kees van Heeringen is a Professor of Psychiatry, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, and Director of the Unit for Suicide Research at Ghent University, Belgium. He is also Co-founder of the Flemish Expertise Centre for Suicide Prevention. Professor van Heeringen's research has been awarded the Stengel Award by the International Association for Suicide Prevention.