Reduced white matter integrity in borderline personality disorder: A diffusion tensor imaging study

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions. BPD may be linked to an abnormal brain anatomy, but little is known about possible impairments of the white matter microstructure in BPD or their relationship with impulsivity or risky behaviors. The aims of the present study were to explore the relationship between BPD and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters and psychological tests.

We evaluated 35 un-medicated BPD patients in a medication-free state and 50 healthy controls (HCs). We performed DTI tractography in BPD patients and HCs. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Profile of Mood State (POMS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS), and Depression and Anxiety Cognition Scale (DACS) were administered to BPD patients and HCs.

A tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) revealed that the BPD group had three clusters with a significantly lower axial diffusivity (AD) than the HC group: one located mainly in the cingulum and the other mainly in the inferior front-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Regarding the AD values, one cluster correlated negatively and significantly with POMS (Depression) and it was located in the cingulum, while another cluster correlated positively and significantly with DACS (Future Denial) and it was located in the inferior front-occipital fasciculus (IFOF).

The small sample size of this study prevents us from forming any definitive conclusions, meaning that more studies are needed to confirm our findings. We are unable to generalize our findings to include other ethnic groups.

Our results suggested that hypo-metabolism in a front-limbic network dysfunction is characterized by the cingulum and a front-occipital network dysfunction characterized by the occipital lobe, while an occipital-temporal network dysfunction characterized by the inferior longitudinal fasciculus.