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Published on: March 8, 2018
Negative reward expectations in Borderline Personality Disorder patients: neurophysiological evidence
Daniel Vega1, Àngel Soto, Julià L Amengual
1Servei de Psiquiatria i Salut Mental, Hospital d'Igualada (Consorci Sanitari de l'Anoia), Igualada, Barcelona 08700, Spain; Unitat de Psicologia Mèdica, Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal & Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBELL], L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona 08097, Spain.
Abstract:
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) patients present profound disturbances in affect regulation and impulse control which could reflect a dysfunction in reward-related processes. The current study investigated these processes in a sample of 18 BPD patients and 18 matched healthy controls, using an event-related brain potentials methodology. Results revealed a reduction in the amplitude of the Feedback-Related Negativity of BPD patients, which is a neurophysiological index of the impact of negative feedback in reward-related tasks. This reduction, in the effect of negative feedback in BPD patients, was accompanied by a different behavioral pattern of risk choice compared to healthy participants. These findings confirm a dysfunctional reward system in BDP patients, which might compromise their capacity to build positive expectations of future rewards and decision making.
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