TY - JOUR
T1 - Neurocognitive Deficits in Borderline Personality Disorder
T2 - Associations With Childhood Trauma and Dimensions of Personality Psychopathology
AU - Thomsen, Marianne Skovgaard
AU - Ruocco, Anthony C
AU - Carcone, Dean
AU - Mathiesen, Birgit Bork
AU - Simonsen, Erik
PY - 2017/8
Y1 - 2017/8
N2 - The present study evaluates the severity of neurocognitive deficits and assesses their relations with self-reported childhood trauma and dimensions of personality psychopathology in 45 outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) matched to 56 non-psychiatric controls. Participants completed a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests, a retrospective questionnaire on early life trauma and a dimensional measure of personality psychopathology. Patients with BPD primarily showed deficits in verbal comprehension, sustained visual attention, working memory and processing speed. Comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an elevated childhood history of physical trauma were each accompanied by more severe neurocognitive deficits. There were no statistically significant associations between neurocognitive function and dimensions of personality psychopathology. These results suggest that patients with BPD display deficits mainly in higher-order thinking abilities that may be exacerbated by PTSD and substantial early life trauma. Potential relationships between neurocognitive deficits and dimensions of personality psychopathology in BPD need further examination.
AB - The present study evaluates the severity of neurocognitive deficits and assesses their relations with self-reported childhood trauma and dimensions of personality psychopathology in 45 outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) matched to 56 non-psychiatric controls. Participants completed a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests, a retrospective questionnaire on early life trauma and a dimensional measure of personality psychopathology. Patients with BPD primarily showed deficits in verbal comprehension, sustained visual attention, working memory and processing speed. Comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an elevated childhood history of physical trauma were each accompanied by more severe neurocognitive deficits. There were no statistically significant associations between neurocognitive function and dimensions of personality psychopathology. These results suggest that patients with BPD display deficits mainly in higher-order thinking abilities that may be exacerbated by PTSD and substantial early life trauma. Potential relationships between neurocognitive deficits and dimensions of personality psychopathology in BPD need further examination.
U2 - 10.1521/pedi_2016_30_265
DO - 10.1521/pedi_2016_30_265
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 27617651
SN - 0885-579X
VL - 31
SP - 503
EP - 521
JO - Journal of Personality Disorders
JF - Journal of Personality Disorders
IS - 4
ER -