Science Writers in NY
Every year, 30,000 Americans kill themselves, and hundreds of thousands of people attempt suicide. While about half of these people are clinically depressed, depression doesn't explain why they commit suicide. Eighty percent of all people suffering from depression, including the very sickest ones, never try to take their own lives. SWINY EVENT
April 26, 1999 6:30 - 9:00 PM
The Biology of Suicide
SWINY's April event will be an on-the-record visit to the New York State Psychiatric Institute (located near Columbia/Presbyterian Hospital), which has the world's leading laboratory studying suicide. By studying brain tissue, interviewing patient families and doing brain scans, researchers are uncovering the brain chemistry behind suicide. Researchers John Mann and Victoria Arango believe that the reason people kill themselves is that they are unable to inhibit the desire to do so, and that this may be the result of a malfunctioning serotonin system. The lab has published multiple papers based on their work studying the brains of suicide victims, matched with normal controls.
At the event. we will hear from Drs. Mann and Arango, as well as Madeline Gould, a specialist in adolescent suicide. She will talk about "the issue of contagion." Please join us for what is sure to be a newsworthy event.
Monday, April 26
6:30 reception
7:30 program
Psychiatric Institute, Ground floor
1051 Riverside Drive (3 blocks above 165th) Subway: A, B, K, 1 lines all go to 168th, then walk west.RSVP before April 22, please, by contacting Peggy Girshman via E-mail at peggy.girshman@nbc.com or by phone at 212-664-2564.
Cost: SWINY members $17, SWINY student members (need current student ID) $5, nonmembers $20.
Please note that SWINY will begin to charge dues of $15 per year starting at this event. The dues help cover the cost of the events. Individuals who do not pay dues may attend SWINY events, but will be charged a higher admission rate. You may pay dues at this SWINY event to receive the member rate.