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Background: Although executive and other cognitive deficits have been found in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), whether these have brain functional correlates has been little studied. This study aimed to examine patterns of task-related activation and de-activation during the performance of a working memory task in patients with the disorder. Methods: Sixty-seven DSM-IV BPD patients and 67 healthy controls underwent fMRI during the performance of the n-back task. Linear models were used to obtain maps of within-group activations and areas of differential activation between the groups. Results: On corrected whole-brain analysis, there were no activation differences between the BPD patients and the healthy controls during the main 2-back v. baseline contrast, but reduced activation was seen in the precentral cortex bilaterally and the left inferior parietal cortex in the 2-back v. 1-back contrast. The patients showed failure of de-activation affecting the medial frontal cortex and the precuneus, plus in other areas. The changes did not appear to be attributable to previous history of depression, which was present in nearly half the sample. Conclusions: In this study, there was some, though limited, evidence for lateral frontal hypoactivation in BPD during the performance of an executive task. BPD also appears to be associated with failure of de-activation in key regions of the default mode network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Structural imaging studies of borderline personality disorder (BPD) have found regions of reduced cortical volume, but these have varied considerably across studies. Reduced hippocampus and amygdala volume have also been a regular finding in studies using conventional volumetric measurement. How far comorbid major depression, which is common in BPD and can also affect in brain structure, influences the findings is not clear. Methods: Seventy-six women with BPD and 76 matched controls were examined using whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM). The hippocampus and amygdala were also measured, using both conventional volume measurement and VBM within a mask restricted to these two subcortical structures. Lifetime history of major depression was assessed using structured psychiatric interview. Results: At a threshold of p = 0.05 corrected, the BPD patients showed clusters of volume reduction in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bilaterally and in the pregenual/subgenual medial frontal cortex. There was no evidence of volume reductions in the hippocampus or amygdala, either on conventional volumetry or using VBM masked to these regions. Instead there was evidence of right-sided enlargement of these structures. No significant structural differences were found between patients with and without lifetime major depression. Conclusions: According to this study, BPD is characterized by a restricted pattern of cortical volume reduction involving the dorsolateral frontal cortex and the medial frontal cortex, both areas of potential relevance for the clinical features of the disorder. Previous findings concerning reduced hippocampus and amygdala volume in the disorder are not supported. Brain structural findings in BPD do not appear to be explainable on the basis of history of associated lifetime major depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dialectical behaviour therapy skills training (DBT-ST) has proven effective to treat individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, therapy still faces the problem of early dropout. The aim of the present study is to examine which factors are associated with early dropout from DBT-ST in a sample of subjects with BPD., Method: 118 subjects with BPD diagnosis were included in the study. Apart from socio-demographic and clinical variables, childhood trauma history, personality dimensions, and comorbidities with other psychiatric disorders were collected. Differences in regards to the aforementioned variables were compared between individuals who dropped out prematurely from therapy and those who finalized it., Results: Significant differences between groups regarding socio-demographic and clinical variables, including childhood trauma history and comorbid personality disorders, were not found. Both groups differed significantly in regards to trait impulsiveness and in comorbidity with Eating Disorders (ED) and Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD). The regression analyses showed that ED and CUD significantly predicted drop-out (p=0.011 and p=0.031 respectively), while scores in trait impulsivity showed a tendency towards signification (p=0.063)., Conclusions: Comorbidities between BPD and axis I disorders (i.e., ED and CUD) should be taken into account when referring patients to DBT-ST.