title: Borderline personality disorder: hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis and findings from neuroimaging studies.
abstract: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and serious mental disorder that is commonly seen psychiatric practice. Although stress, especially early life stress, seems to be associated with the development of the disorder, there has been far less research on the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in BPD, compared to other psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Stress has been suggested to exert damaging effects on the brain, particularly the hippocampus; therefore, neuroimaging studies yield important insight into the neurobiology of BPD. This article reviews research on the HPA axis and neuroimaging studies in BPD and aims to integrate these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf & Schön Klinik Hamburg-Eilbek, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. k.wingenfeld@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wingenfeld
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spitzer
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rullkötter
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Löwe
mesh_terms: D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology