Oxytocin influences avoidant reactions to social threat in adults with borderline personality disorder.
BACKGROUND
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by interpersonal dysfunction, emotional instability, impulsivity, and risk-taking behavior. Recent research has focused on the role of oxytocin in BPD, with mixed results as regards the processing of social stimuli.


METHODS
In a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, 13 BPD patients and 13 controls performed a dot probe task to examine attentional biases to happy and angry faces after intranasal application of oxytocin or placebo. Childhood trauma was examined using the childhood trauma questionnaire.


RESULTS
In the placebo condition, patients with BPD (but not controls) showed an avoidant reaction to angry faces (but not happy faces). The strength of the avoidant reaction correlated with the severity of childhood trauma. This behavioral response (as well as the correlation) was abolished in the oxytocin condition.


CONCLUSIONS
Adult patients with BPD show an avoidant response to social threat, a reaction that is linked with traumatic experiences during childhood. This response pattern is altered by oxytocin, possibly by reducing stress and inhibiting social withdrawal from distressing social stimuli.
Martin
M
Brüne
Andreas
A
Ebert
Meike
M
Kolb
Cumhur
C
Tas
Marc-Andreas
MA
Edel
Patrik
P
Roser
D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005149:Facial Expression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D010121:Oxytocin