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Research / Funded grants

2018 Standard Research Grant

Neural Correlates of Emotional Regulation in Psychosis with Suicidal Ideation and Behavior

2 research findings from this AFSP-funded study.

Research finding · February 2025

Certain regions of the brain may help understand suicidal thoughts and behaviors in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Suicidal thoughts and behavior (STB) are critical public health concerns, particularly in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), where the lifetime risk of suicide is elevated. Despite this, the neural mechanisms underlying STB in SSD remain poorly understood, limiting the development of effective interventions. Understanding how emotion-related impulsivity — specifically, negative urgency (NU), or rash actions triggered by distress — intersects with brain activity during emotion regulation could provide insights into targeted approaches to reduce suicide risk in this vulnerable population.

With his AFSP-funded grant, Dr. Matthew Hoptman examined brain activity in 30 individuals with SSD, divided into high- and low-STB groups, using functional MRI during an emotion regulation task. The high-STB group exhibited reduced activation in key regions associated with emotional and cognitive control, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, medial frontal gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortex. These deficits were closely linked to higher levels of NU. The findings suggest that impaired regulation in these neural circuits may play a part in the connection between impulsivity and STB, highlighting the potential for interventions aimed at enhancing emotion regulation and addressing NU to reduce suicide risk in individuals with SSD.

Citation: Hoptman, M. J., Evans, K. T., Parincu, Z., Sparpana, A. M., Sullivan, E. F., Ahmed, A. O., & Iosifescu, D. V. (2024). Emotion-related impulsivity and suicidal ideation and behavior in schizophrenia spectrum disorder: a pilot fMRI study. Frontiers in psychiatry, 15, 1408083. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1408083

This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓

Research finding · August 2023

The tendency to act rashly when in extreme distress relates to suicide among people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

The presence of suicidal ideation and behaviors (SIB) in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) is a serious public health problem. The mechanisms linking the two are understudied. Along with the psychiatric symptoms common to SSD diagnosis (e.g., psychosis, depressed mood, and dysregulated behavior), one potential factor that has been suspected to be at play is negative urgency, which is the tendency to act rashly when in extreme distress, which could contribute to suicidal behavior.

To test this hypothesis, Dr. Matthew Hoptman and his team enrolled 35 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and a range of severity in suicidal ideation and behaviors, with one group having little to no history of SIB and the other having significant history of SIB as measured by a standard instrument of suicidal ideation and behavior. After assessing for a variety of factors that could potentially distinguish the two groups, Dr. Hoptman found that negative urgency in tandem with psychiatric symptoms strongly predicted suicidal ideation and behaviors, making the case for further investigation with a larger sample.

Citation: Hoptman, M. J., Tural, U., Arnold, M. S., Collins, K. A., Evans, K. T., Irvin, M. K., Parincu, Z., Rette, D. N., Sparpana, A. M., Sullivan, E. F., & Iosifescu, D. V. (2023). Suicidal ideation and behavior in schizophrenia: The role of negative urgency and psychiatric symptoms. Schizophrenia research, 254, 173-175, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2023.02.006

This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓

The grant behind this work · 2018 Standard Research Grant

Neural Correlates of Emotional Regulation in Psychosis with Suicidal Ideation and Behavior

Matthew Hoptman, PhD

Matthew Hoptman, Ph.D.

Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research

Amount awarded
$100,000 Focus area
Neurobiological

Inside the Research

Question: Are emotion regulation, brain structure and function and suicidal ideation and behavior associated among people with schizophrenia?

Strategy: Brain function related to emotion regulation will be compared between 52 people with psychoses and high or low levels of suicidal ideation and behavior, and 52 people with no psychiatric conditions using fMRI and novel brain imaging techniques to assess brain structure, circuitry, and function.

Impact: Suggestions of targets for novel approaches to reduce suicide risk for people with schizophrenia.

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