Amygdala volume and depressive symptoms in patients with borderline personality disorder.
BACKGROUND
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a high prevalence of comorbid psychiatric disorders, including major depression (MD). The aim of this study was to examine whether a co-occurrence of MD is associated with structural changes in the amygdala of BPD patients.


METHODS
Twenty-five right-handed, female patients with BPD and 25 matched healthy control subjects were examined. Diagnoses of BPD and MD were made according to DSM IV. Depressive symptomatology was determined with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed with 1.5 T Magnetom Vision (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). The software program "BRAINS" was applied for brain volumetry and segmentation. The amygdala was delineated as "region of interest."


RESULTS
Comparison of amygdala volumes between the whole group of BPD patients and control subjects revealed no significant difference. Amygdala volumes in both hemispheres were significantly larger in BPD patients with MD compared with those without MD. There was a significant correlation in BPD patients between left amygdala volume and depressive symptoms as measured by HAMD.


CONCLUSIONS
Correlation of amygdala volume with depression in BPD patients might indicate a causal relationship. Future studies should clarify whether amygdala enlargement is a risk factor for MD in BPD patients or a consequence of the affective disorder.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
Thomas
T
Zetzsche
Thomas
T
Frodl
Ulrich W
UW
Preuss
Gisela
G
Schmitt
Doerthe
D
Seifert
Gerda
G
Leinsinger
Christine
C
Born
Maximilian
M
Reiser
Hans-Jürgen
HJ
Möller
Eva M
EM
Meisenzahl
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012016:Reference Values