title: Altered memory and affective instability in prisoners assessed for dangerous and severe personality disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies of borderline personality disorder report neuropsychological impairments in several domains, including memory. No studies have compared memory functioning in high-risk prisoners with borderline personality disorder with similar prisoners with other personality disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore mnemonic impairments in prisoners undergoing personality assessment as part of the dangerous and severe personality disorder initiative or detained in a medium secure facility.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated memory function in 18 prisoners with borderline personality disorder and 18 prisoners with other personality disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prisoners with borderline personality disorder exhibited a pattern of multi-modal impairments in the immediate and delayed recall of verbal and visual information, with some association with affective instability. These deficits were not associated with the severity of personality disturbance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that memory deficits have some specificity in relation to the constituent traits of borderline personality disorder and indicate that neuropsychological assessment may be a source of useful adjunctive information for distinguishing between the cognitive and psychological difficulties of individual prisoners.
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Milton
authors.forename: Conor
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duggan
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tyrer
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*