Similarities and differences in borderline and organic personality disorder

Birgit Bork Mathiesen, Erik Simonsen, Ulf Søgaard, Tine Kajsa Kvist

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: Previous research has shown that brain injury patients with Organic Personality Disorder (OPD) may display "borderline" traits due to prefrontal damage, and their personality structure may be unstable and close to a borderline personality organisation. They may have few general neuropsychological dysfunctions but specific executive deficits. Similar deficits have been found in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The objective of this study was to identify differences and similarities between the neuropsychological and personality profiles of BPD and OPD patients. Methods: Twenty BPD patients and 24 OPD patients were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II), the Karolinska Psychodynamic Profile (KAPP), and a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Results: Very few neuropsychological differences were found between the two patient groups. However, the verbal fluency, verbal intelligence, verbal memory, and immediate auditory memory/attention of the BPD patients were significantly poorer than the OPD patients'. The KAPP profiles of the BPD patients showed significantly poorer functioning in three areas: frustration tolerance, the body as a factor of self-esteem, and overall personality organisation.ConclusionsThese results support our clinical experience and expectations concerning the severity of symptoms of both patient groups. We suggest considering in depth assessments of both neuropsychological and personality-related problems for each of these patients in order to inform treatment.

Original languageEnglish
JournalCognitive Neuropsychiatry
Volume19
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)1-16
Number of pages16
ISSN1354-6805
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2014

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Similarities and differences in borderline and organic personality disorder'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this