Bryan T Denny1, Jin Fan2, Xun Liu3, Stephanie Guerreri1, Sarah Jo Mayson1, Liza Rimsky1, Antonia McMaster1, Heather Alexander1, Antonia S New4, Marianne Goodman4, Mercedes Perez-Rodriguez1, Larry J Siever4, Harold W Koenigsberg5. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA. 2. Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY 11367, USA. 3. Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; James J Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10468, USA. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; James J Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10468, USA. Electronic address: HWarrenK@nyc.rr.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) are characterized by hyper-reactivity to negatively-perceived interpersonal cues, yet they differ in degree of affective instability. Recent work has begun to elucidate the neural (structural and functional) and cognitive-behavioral underpinnings of BPD, although some initial studies of brain structure have reached divergent conclusions. AvPD, however, has been almost unexamined in the cognitive neuroscience literature. METHODS: In the present study we investigated group differences among 29 BPD patients, 27 AvPD patients, and 29 healthy controls (HC) in structural brain volumes using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in five anatomically-defined regions of interest: amygdala, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We also examined the relationship between individual differences in brain structure and self-reported anxiety and affective instability in each group. RESULTS: We observed reductions in MPFC and ACC volume in BPD relative to HC, with no significant difference among patient groups. No group differences in amygdala volume were found. However, BPD and AvPD patients each showed a positive relationship between right amygdala volume and state-related anxiety. By contrast, in HC there was an inverse relationship between MPFC volume and state and trait-related anxiety as well as between bilateral DLPFC volume and affective instability. LIMITATIONS: Current sample sizes did not permit examination of gender effects upon structure-symptom correlations. CONCLUSIONS: These results shed light on potentially protective, or compensatory, aspects of brain structure in these populations-namely, relatively reduced amygdala volume or relatively enhanced MPFC and DLPFC volume. Published by Elsevier B.V.
BACKGROUND:Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) are characterized by hyper-reactivity to negatively-perceived interpersonal cues, yet they differ in degree of affective instability. Recent work has begun to elucidate the neural (structural and functional) and cognitive-behavioral underpinnings of BPD, although some initial studies of brain structure have reached divergent conclusions. AvPD, however, has been almost unexamined in the cognitive neuroscience literature. METHODS: In the present study we investigated group differences among 29 BPD patients, 27 AvPD patients, and 29 healthy controls (HC) in structural brain volumes using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in five anatomically-defined regions of interest: amygdala, hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We also examined the relationship between individual differences in brain structure and self-reported anxiety and affective instability in each group. RESULTS: We observed reductions in MPFC and ACC volume in BPD relative to HC, with no significant difference among patient groups. No group differences in amygdala volume were found. However, BPD and AvPD patients each showed a positive relationship between right amygdala volume and state-related anxiety. By contrast, in HC there was an inverse relationship between MPFC volume and state and trait-related anxiety as well as between bilateral DLPFC volume and affective instability. LIMITATIONS: Current sample sizes did not permit examination of gender effects upon structure-symptom correlations. CONCLUSIONS: These results shed light on potentially protective, or compensatory, aspects of brain structure in these populations-namely, relatively reduced amygdala volume or relatively enhanced MPFC and DLPFC volume. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Authors: M Sala; E Caverzasi; M Lazzaretti; N Morandotti; G De Vidovich; E Marraffini; F Gambini; M Isola; M De Bona; G Rambaldelli; G d'Allio; F Barale; F Zappoli; P Brambilla Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2011-01-05 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Savannah N Gosnell; Matthew J Meyer; Cassandra Jennings; Danna Ramirez; Jake Schmidt; John Oldham; Ramiro Salas Journal: Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks) Date: 2020-02-26
Authors: Inga Aarts; Chris Vriend; Aishah Snoek; Arne van den End; Matthijs Blankers; Aartjan T F Beekman; Jack Dekker; Odile A van den Heuvel; Kathleen Thomaes Journal: Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul Date: 2021-05-05