Neurobiological Findings in Youth with Borderline Personality Disorder

Authors

  • Romuald Brunner University of Heidelberg
  • Romy Henze
  • Julia Richter
  • Michael Kaess

Keywords:

borderline personality disorder, adolescents, developmental pathways, neurobiology, neuroimaging, genetics, pain perception, neuroendocrinology, neuropsychology

Abstract

This review summarizes recent neurobiological research into youth with borderline personality disorder (BPD) to better delineate the biological factors involved in the development of this disorder. Psychobiological studies when BPD first becomes manifest are of particular interest, because there are fewer confounding factors (e.g., duration of illness, drug abuse, medication, other therapeutic interventions) at this time. This article focuses on recent findings in the field of neuroimaging, neuropsychology, neuroendocrinology, genetics, and pain perception, and it aims to integrate these findings in a developmental psychopathology model of BPD. In studies of clinical samples of adults with BPD, structural imaging studies revealed abnormalities predominantly in the frontolimbic areas. Disturbances in emotional information processing—particularly involving negative stimuli—may mediate affective dysregulation as a core feature of BPD. Genetic studies could reveal that the stability of BPD traits in youth is largely influenced by a combination of genetic and non-shared environmental factors. Hyporesponsiveness to a laboratory stressor indicates an enduring alteration of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Findings of a higher pain threshold indicate that pain processing is already disturbed during the early stages of BPD, which could contribute to the initiation or maintenance of self-injurious behavior. All biological factors, together with environmental risk factors, may contribute to the core symptoms of BPD: severe emotional and behavioral dysregulation. Further research should investigate the development of BPD in youth by using longitudinal designs to determine whether the neurobiological factors are a cause, an effect, or an epiphenomenon of BPD.

Author Biography

Romuald Brunner, University of Heidelberg

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

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Published

2015-05-13

How to Cite

Brunner, R., Henze, R., Richter, J., & Kaess, M. (2015). Neurobiological Findings in Youth with Borderline Personality Disorder. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 3(1), 22–30. Retrieved from https://tidsskrift.dk/sjcapp/article/view/20356