Clinical Utility of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Assessment and Prediction of Suicidality: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Suicide is a pressing psychiatric concern worldwide with no established biomarker. While there is some evidence of the clinical utility of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in assessing and predicting suicidality, no systematic review of such evidence has been conducted to date. Therefore, this review aimed to systematically review and gather evidence from existing studies that used fNIRS signals to assess suicidality and its associated changes in the brain, and those that examined how such signals correlated with suicide symptomatology.Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were used in a systematic literature search for English-language articles published between 2000 and December 19, 2020 that focused on the utility of fNIRS for (i) assessing suicidality and its associated changes in the brain, and (ii) correlating with suicide symptomatology. Studies were included if they utilised fNIRS to evaluate variations in fNIRS-measured cerebral hemodynamic responses in patients with different mental disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, schizophrenia), as well as in healthy controls, of any age group. Quality of evidence was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale.Results: A total of 7 cross-sectional studies were included in this review, all of which had acceptable quality. Across all studies, fNIRS demonstrated reduced cerebral hemodynamic changes in suicidal individuals when compared to non-suicidal individuals. One study also demonstrated the potential of fNIRS signals in correlating with the severity of suicidality.Conclusions: This review provides a comprehensive, updated review of evidence supporting the clinical utility of fNIRS in the assessment and prediction of suicidality. Further studies involving larger sample sizes, standardised methodology, and longitudinal follow-ups are needed.

Potential Inflammatory Biomarkers for Major Depressive Disorder Related to Suicidal Behaviors: A Systematic Review

“…This complexity has redirected academic attention towards unearthing biological correlates for insights into pathogenesis and potential therapeutic and preventive interventions. Because these biological correlations may serve as potential risk indicators [ 4 ], the increased suicidal risk in major depressive disorder (MDD) can be diagnosed using certain biomarkers. However, the lack of reliable biological markers for suicidal risk remains a significant issue.…”

“…However, the lack of reliable biological markers for suicidal risk remains a significant issue. This is largely due to an overreliance on self-reported suicidal intentions and the limited predictive power of identified nonbiological risk factors [ 4 ]. Nevertheless, our focus in this study was on MDD, aiming to identify potential biomarkers linked to suicidal risk, considering the plausible relationship between depressive states and suicidal ideation [ 5 , 6 ].…”