Caudothalamic dysfunction in drug-free suicidally depressed patients: an MEG study

Major depressive disorder (MDD), characterized by low mood or anhedonia, is commonly associated with a greater suicidal susceptibility. There are numerous suicide-related findings pertaining to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), caudate nucleus and thalamus, which form a cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit responsible for executive function and working memory. An aberrant CSTC circuitry is hypothesized to be implicated in depressed patients with a high suicidal risk. 27 MDD patients were assessed with the Nurses Global Assessment of Suicide Risk (NGASR), following which 14 patients were classified into a high suicide risk group (NGASR ≥ 12) and 13 patients were assigned to a low suicide risk group (NGASR