AUTOAGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IS CLOSELY-RELATED TO SEROTONIN AVAILABILITY IN SCHIZOAFFECTIVE DISORDER

Lowered serotonin turnover has been observed in impulsive hetero- and auto-aggressive behavior. Most notably the CSF 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid concentrations were decreased. However, data on CSF or blood sero tonin are far from clear-cut, since similar levels in suicidal and non -suicidal patients have also been noted. Longitudinal studies of suici dal patients have revealed pronounced shifts in blood serotonin levels , whereas healthy subjects' blood serotonin levels remained stable. We investigated blood serotonin levels of female schizoaffective patient s and healthy women to test whether the fluctuations correlated with c hanges in autoaggressive behavior. The patients were divided into thre e groups: nonsuicidal, acutely suicidal, and postsuicidal. Nonsuicidal and postsuicidal schizoaffective patients' and healthy women's blood serotonin levels were similar. Suicidal patients' blood serotonin leve ls were significantly lower than those of healthy subjects and postsui cidal patients. We interpret the serotonin augmentation after a suicid e attempt as a psychobiological correlate of increased neurotransmitte r function.