Repeat neurobehavioral study of borderline personality disorder.
Previous research has tentatively identified a large subgroup of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with histories of developmental or acquired brain insults. Similarly, these studies have demonstrated a possible biological correlation between the severity of BPD and the number of previous brain insults. The possibility of frontal system cognitive dysfunction in BPD has been raised. This single-blind, case-control study of BPD showed that 13 of 24 subjects with BPD had suffered a brain insult. Correlations between neurodevelopmental/acquired brain injury score and the diagnostic interview for borderline (DIB) score (r = 0.47), and between frontal system cognitive functioning and DIB score (r = -0.37) were seen. Neurocognitive testing and comparison with a cohort of subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI) showed a pattern of similar cognitive functioning between the 2 groups, with the only differences on individual tests being in the direction of worse functioning in the group with BPD on 2 tasks. These results support the hypotheses described above. The main limitation reflects the low numbers of subjects.
van Reekum
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Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method