  Suicidal behavior is a leading cause of injury and death worldwide. Suicide
has been associated with psychiatric illnesses such as depression and
schizophrenia, as well as economic uncertainty, and social/cultural factors.
This study proposes a neuroeconomic framework of suicide. Neuroeconomic
parameters (e.g., risk-attitude, probability weighting, time discounting in
intertemporal choice, and loss aversion) are predicted to be related to
suicidal behavior. Neurobiological and neuroendocrinological substrates such as
serotonin, dopamine, cortisol (HPA axis), nitric oxide, serum cholesterol,
epinephrine, norepinephrine, gonadal hormones (e.g., estradiol and
progesterone), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in brain regions such as the
orbitofrontal/dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and limbic regions (e.g., the
amygdala) may supposedly be related to the neuroeconomic parameters modulating
the risk of suicide. The present framework puts foundations for "molecular
neuroeconomics" of decision-making processes underlying suicidal behavior.
