Emotionally controlled decision-making and a gene variant related to serotonin synthesis in women with borderline personality disorder.
The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was used to examine (i) social decision-making in women with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and (ii) the relationship between impaired decision-making and the tryptophan hydroxylase-1 (TPH-1) gene, involved in serotonin synthesis. Forty-two women with BPD and a history of suicide attempts were genotyped, and the frequency of a TPH-1 haplotype previously uniquely associated with BPD was calculated. The BPD group scored significantly lower than a control group in the IGT. Furthermore, the TPH-1 haplotype displayed a significantly higher frequency in BPD participants with impaired decision making, compared to BPD participants with normal scores. These findings suggest that impaired decision-making as determined by the IGT is a feature of BPD and may be (i) associated with serotonin dysfunction, and (ii) possibly relevant for suicidal behavior.
Maurex
Liselotte
L
Psychology Section, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Zaboli
Ghazal
G
Wiens
Stefan
S
Asberg
Marie
M
Leopardi
Rosario
R
Ohman
Arne
A
D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012701:Serotonin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics*
D012701:Serotonin; C497467:TPH1 protein, human; D014365:Tryptophan Hydroxylase