Can brain scans predict suicide risk?
NCT ID NCT02901769
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study used brain scans (fMRI) to look at how people process emotions and make decisions, comparing those who have attempted suicide, those with past suicidal thoughts, depressed patients without suicidal history, and healthy controls. The goal was to find brain activity patterns linked to suicide vulnerability. The study involved 26 participants and has already been completed.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help identify brain markers that predict suicide risk, potentially leading to better screening and prevention strategies.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage observational study with only 26 participants, so results may not apply broadly. It does not test any treatment.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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26 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Feb 2013
- Finished
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Jul 2019
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Right-handed, * Depressed suicide attempters for the first group, * Depressed patients with past history of suicidal acts for the second group, * Depressed patients with no history of suicidal acts for the third group, * Healthy controls for the fourth group. Exclusion Criteria: * Another psychiatric trouble than depression, * Another psychotrope treatment than SSRI/SNRI and/or benzodiazepine at inclusion and/or one month before, * For the first and secand groups : more than fous suicidals acts within the past 3 years, * Deficits that do not allow test realisation (visual audition troubles, cognitif deficits, * Prosopagnosia, * Pregnancy, * Severe central nervous system disease or somatic disease, * MRI contra-indication, * Major benefiting from a legal protective measure, * No coverage care.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Rennes university hospital
Rennes, 35000, France
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