sleep, serotonin, and suicide睡眠、5 -羟色胺和自杀.pdf

Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 2012, 2, 471-478 /10.4236/jbbs.2012.24055 Published Online November 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/jbbs) Sleep, Serotonin, and Suicide Jun Kohyama Tokyo Bay Urayasu/Ichikawa Medical Center, Urayasu, Japan Email: j-kohyama@jadecom.or.jp Received October 3, 2012; revised October 23, 2012; accepted October 31, 2012 ABSTRACT The author hypothesizes that sleep loss associated with a decrease in serotonergic activity plays a significant role in attempted suicide. Recent research has emphasized the role of the economic recession on the occurrence of suicide, but with no attention paid to possible biological aspects. In this brief review, the association between sleep, the serotonergic system, and suicide is initially introduced. Then, with consideration of recent research, a hypothesis regarding the oc- currence of suicide is proposed. Finally, based on that hypothesis, three factors possibly germane to reducing suicides (sufficient sleep duration, activation of the serotonergic system, and activation of the prefrontal cortex) are discussed. Keywords: Economic Crisis; Prefrontal Cortex; C-Fiber; Yomikikase; Dakko 1. Introduction script have been published in 1992 or after this year. Linnoila and Virkkunen [9] used the term ‘low serotonin Suicide is a complex behavior. Although depression is syndrome’ as a clinical entity linked to violent suicide highly prevalent among people who commit suicide [1],