What does this research mean for the field?

In early adolescence, the presence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors is associated with altered functional connectivity in brain networks involved in reward, emotion/threat-processing, and cognitive regulation. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to investigate how suicide risk factors affect brain functional connectivity during adolescence.

May 9, 2026Journal of Clinical and Translational Science0 citationsOpen Access

85 Brain connectivity changes during adolescence associated with presence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in ABCD study

LPLaura PadillaUniversity of Minnesota Medical Center DRDonovan J. RoedigerUniversity of Minnesota KDKelly A. DuffyUniversity of Minnesota

Key Points

This research aims to investigate how suicide risk factors affect brain functional connectivity during adolescence.
Utilized longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study.
Analyzed baseline and Year 2 functional MRI data along with demographic and psychological reports.
Employed a linear mixed-effects model to address the relationship between suicide risk and brain development.
Out of 9653 subjects, 2146 (22.2%) reported suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB).
Significant interactions revealed reduced brain connectivity in various networks associated with STB (B = -15.0, 95% CI [-26.4, -3.8]).
Connectivity changes occurred in networks related to approach, avoidance, and cognitive regulation.

Abstract

Objectives/Goals: Adolescent suicide is a major and growing public health concern, as suicide-related hospital visits continue to rise. Additionally, brain regions implicated in suicide risk are still undergoing change during adolescence. Here, we explore the longitudinal impact of suicide risk factors on brain functional connectivity during adolescence. Methods/Study Population: Data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study were used for this analysis. The ABCD Study is an ongoing, multi-site, longitudinal study that follows kids starting at 9 years old until they’re 18 years old. The study sample is meant to be representative of the current US population, based on various demographic criteria obtained from the US census. For this study, baseline and Year 2 functional MRI imaging data and parent and youth reports of depression, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) from the ABCD Study, were used for this analysis. Clinical and imaging data were added into a statistical model (linear mixed-effects model) to describe how the relationship between suicide risk and brain development changes over time. Results/Anticipated Results: A total of 9653 subjects (51% Female), between the ages of 8.9 – 13.8 years, across two timepoints: Baseline (N=6493) and Year 2 (N=3,160), were included in the analysis. Of this sample, 861 (8.9%) endorsed depression, 1428 (14.8%) NSSI, 2146 (22.2%) STB, and 3012 (31.2%) any of the three suicide risk factors at any timepoint. Results showed a significant interaction between the association of network connectivity and STB group status with age in the approach (B = -15.0, 95%CI -26.4, -3.8), avoidance (B = -8.5, 95%CI -16.3, -0.9), regulation (B = -14.4, 95%CI -26.2, -3.1), approach-avoidance (B = -14.4, 95%CI -28.3, -0.5), and approach-regulation (B = -15.6, 95%CI -28.8, -2.7) network. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Findings suggest, in early adolescence, presence of STBs is associated with changes in communication in regions involved in reward-(approach), emotion/threat-processing (avoidance), and their cognitive regulation (regulation). The causal relationship is unclear, but it’s an important step to understanding the neural mechanisms of suicide.

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