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Review
. 2021 Jan 26:12:598434.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.598434. eCollection 2021.

New Methods for Assessing Rapid Changes in Suicide Risk

Elizabeth D Ballard  1 , Jessica R Gilbert  1 , Christina Wusinich  1 , Carlos A Zarate Jr  1
Affiliations
Review

New Methods for Assessing Rapid Changes in Suicide Risk

Elizabeth D Ballard et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Rapid-acting interventions for the suicide crisis have the potential to transform treatment. In addition, recent innovations in suicide research methods may similarly expand our understanding of the psychological and neurobiological correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This review discusses the limitations and challenges associated with current methods of suicide risk assessment and presents new techniques currently being developed to measure rapid changes in suicidal thoughts and behavior. These novel assessment strategies include ecological momentary assessment, digital phenotyping, cognitive and implicit bias metrics, and neuroimaging paradigms and analysis methodologies to identify neural circuits associated with suicide risk. This review is intended to both describe the current state of our ability to assess rapid changes in suicide risk as well as to explore future directions for clinical, neurobiological, and computational markers research in suicide-focused clinical trials.

Keywords: clinical trial; ecological momentary assessment; neurocognitive; neuroimaging; rapid-acting; suicide.

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Conflict of interest statement

CZ is listed as a co-inventor on a patent for the use of ketamine in major depression and suicidal ideation; as a co-inventor on a patent for the use of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine, (S)-dehydronorketamine, and other stereoisomeric dehydro and hydroxylated metabolites of (R,S)-ketamine metabolites in the treatment of depression and neuropathic pain; and as a co-inventor on a patent application for the use of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine and (2S,6S)-hydroxynorketamine in the treatment of depression, anxiety, anhedonia, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress disorders. He has assigned his patent rights to the U.S. government but will share a percentage of any royalties that may be received by the government. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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