Research progress in executive dysfunction among adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents has gradually become a mental and psychological problem around the world. Globally, the detection rate of NSSI is yearly increasing, and the detection group is also becoming younger. Different from the previous traditional views, NSSI not only exists in the people with affective disorders or psychotic disorders, but may also be present in the people with conduct disorders, substance use disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Its characteristics and neurophysiological mechanisms are also different from pure suicidal behavior and ideation. Adolescents with NSSI often have difficulties and problems in academic performance and social interaction, and these problems are often related to executive dysfunction. There are many components of executive functions, and the impairment of different components indicates that the individual has corresponding dysfunction. Recent research has found that executive dysfunction, including impairments of attention, working memory, and inhibition, is associated with the occurrence of NSSI, and even indicates the occurrence of NSSI in the future. In addition, more and more studies have also confirmed that compared with the normal group, there are differences in brain functions and structures in the NSSI group. In these studies, some researchers have applied executive function-related paradigms and obtained the evidence in task-functional MRI and neuroelectrophysiology. This article reviews the research on executive dysfunction and its neural mechanisms in adolescents with NSSI in recent years.

Keywords

• adolescent
• non-suicidal self-injury (nssi)
• executive dysfunction
• neural mechanism