Women with Borderline Personality Disorder Have Morphological Brain Abnormalities

Studies that have identified brain abnormalities in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), particularly low amygdala and hippocampal volumes, have rarely examined whether comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) contributes to those findings. To probe this question, investigators used MRI-based whole-brain volumetric analyses of gray matter in 76 women diagnosed with BPD (mean age, 32).

Exclusions included current MDD, alcohol or substance abuse or dependence within 6 months, and histories of brain trauma, neurological disease, and schizophrenia-spectrum or bipolar disorder. Of the patients, 39 had lifetime histories of MDD. Additional comorbid personality disorders were recorded in 47 patients (about 50% with ≥2 comorbid perso…