1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This preliminary and, to our knowledge, only neurocognitive study of relatives of suicide completers suggests that neurocognitive alterations, in addition to pathological personality traits (McGirr et al., 2009), may be transmitted in families.» (p. 265)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«In this study, we hypothesized that first degree relatives of suicide completers’ performance would be significantly lower on the WCST [(Wisconsin cart sorting test)] in comparison to individuals with no personal or family history of suicidal acts.» (p. 265)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Through collaboration with the Quebec’s Coroner’s Office, we are able to characterize representative suicides from the Montreal region. We recruited 14 relatives of suicide completers without personal histories of suicidal behaviour, none of whom currently met criteria for psychopathology, including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and substance disorders. […] Age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (n=14), were identified through advertisements in local newspapers.» (p. 265)

Instrument:
Guide d’entretien semi-directif
Wisconsin cart sorting test (WCST)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Together, our data suggest a set of neurocognitive alterations in healthy first-degree relatives of suicide completers even in the absence of a personal history of suicidal behaviour. As these neurocognitive impairments have previously been reported in suicide attempters, this preliminary evidence suggests that they may represent heritable traits whereby suicide risk is transmitted within families and candidate endophenotypes of suicide (Mann et al., 2009).» (p. 266) «In this study, we showed that, when confronted with a changing, yet unambiguous environment, the first-degree relatives of suicide completers demonstrate increased perseverative errors and decreased levels of conceptual responses on a well validated neuropsychological test. Despite negative personal histories of suicidal behaviour, first degree relatives exhibit cognitive impairments of a magnitude comparable to individuals with a history of high-lethality suicide attempts (McGirr et al., 2012). This pattern of WCST performance may be an endophenotype of suicide and therefore provides a novel and deserving avenue for suicide research.» (p. 267)