Neuropsychological Factors Associated With Vulnerability to Suicidal Behavior in Depressed Elderly Patients (SPAD)

Inclusion criteria for patients:

• The patient or his/her representative must have given his/her informed and signed consent
• The patient must be insured or beneficiary of a health insurance plan
• Patients with a diagnosis of current, moderate to severe, major depressive episode according to the DSM diagnostic criteria 5. This episode can be considered as part of a major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.
• Patients with or without a personal history of suicide attempts. A suicide attempt is defined as any act performed with some intent to die (Mann 1998). Suicidal threats, aborted or interrupted gestures as well as self-mutilating acts without suicidal intent will not be considered as suicidal acts.
• Patients hospitalized (or followed as outpatients) in the Nîmes University Hospital psychiatry department or the Sophoras clinic in Nimes

Inclusion criteria for healthy subjects:

• The subject or his/her representative must have given his/her informed and signed consent
• The subject must be insured or beneficiary of a health insurance plan
• Non-depressed subject without personal history of lifetime mood disorder or severe mental illness, or substance or alcohol abuse during the past 12 months

Exclusion criteria for patients:

• The patient is participating in another study
• The patient is in an exclusion period determined by a previous study
• The patient is under judicial protection
• The patient (or his/her legal representative) refuses to sign the consent
• It is impossible to correctly inform the patient or his/her legal representative
• The patient has a known MMSE score <24 (elimination of probable dementia pathology)
• Known central neurological disease including degenerative disease, severe head trauma and severe cerebral vascular disease
• Known schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders
• Alcohol or substance abuse in the last 12 months
• Electroconvulsive therapy in the 12 months preceding the study because of the risk of mnesic side effects
• Inability to perform neuropsychological tests because of a language problem, poor understanding, a major tremor, inability to sit still, a major sight problem that can not be corrected, or other severe cognitive impairment
• The subject presents an acute somatic decompensation incompatible with the completion of this study
• The patient has current confusion

Exclusion criteria for healthy subjects:

• The subject is participating in another study
• The subject is in an exclusion period determined by a previous study
• The subject is under judicial protection
• The subject (or his/her legal representative) refuses to sign the consent
• It is impossible to correctly inform the subject or his/her legal representative
• The subject has a known MMSE score <24 (elimination of probable dementia pathology)
• Known central neurological disease including degenerative disease, severe head trauma and severe cerebral vascular disease
• Known schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders
• Alcohol or substance abuse in the last 12 months
• Electroconvulsive therapy in the 12 months preceding the study because of the risk of mnesic side effects
• Inability to perform neuropsychological tests because of a language problem, poor understanding, a major tremor, inability to sit still, a major sight problem that can not be corrected, or other severe cognitive impairment
• The subject has a mood disorder
• The subject presents an acute somatic decompensation incompatible with the completion of this study
• Thesubject has current confusion

Pharmacological treatment is not a criterion for exclusion in itself but it will be left to the judgment of the evaluator to choose to include a subject or not (or to postpone inclusion) depending on the drug (eg. after weaning daytime sedative treatment and benzodiazepines).