Frontolimbic brain abnormalities in patients with borderline personality disorder: a volumetric magnetic resonance imaging study.
BACKGROUND
Dual frontolimbic brain pathology has been suggested as a possible correlate of impulsivity and aggressive behavior. One previous study reported volume loss of the hippocampus and the amygdala in patients with borderline personality disorder. We measured limbic and prefrontal brain volumes to test the hypothesis that frontolimbic brain pathology might be associated with borderline personality disorder.


METHODS
Eight unmedicated female patients with borderline personality disorder and eight matched healthy controls were studied. The volumes of the hippocampus, amygdala, and orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and anterior cingulate cortex were measured in the patients using magnetic resonance imaging volumetry and compared to those obtained in the controls.


RESULTS
We found a significant reduction of hippocampal and amygdala volumes in borderline personality disorder. There was a significant 24% reduction of the left orbitofrontal and a 26% reduction of the right anterior cingulate cortex in borderline personality disorder. Only left orbitofrontal volumes correlated significantly with amygdala volumes.


CONCLUSIONS
While volume loss of a single brain structure like the hippocampus is quite an unspecific finding in neuropsychiatry, the patterns of volume loss of the amygdala, hippocampus, and left orbitofrontal and right anterior cingulate cortex might differentiate borderline personality disorder from other neuropsychiatric conditions.
Tebartz van Elst
Ludger
L
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Hesslinger
Bernd
B
Thiel
Thorsten
T
Geiger
Emanuel
E
Haegele
Kerstin
K
Lemieux
Louis
L
Lieb
Klaus
K
Bohus
Martin
M
Hennig
Jürgen
J
Ebert
Dieter
D
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008032:Limbic System / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology