Affective Responsiveness in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Psychophysiological Approach

Herpertz, Sabine C.; Kunert, Hanns Jürgen; Schwenger, Ulrich B.; Saß, Henning

doi:10.1176/ajp.156.10.1550

Cited by 212 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…From a clinical point of view, BPD patients were described to show affective hyperarousal in response to emotional stressors (Linehan, 1993). In a laboratory setting, however, hyperarousal in response to stressful stimuli has not been clearly demonstrated, either in the present study or in earlier investigations (Herpertz et al, 1999(Herpertz et al, , 2001). …”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 80%

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Psychophysiological reactivity to traumatic and abandonment scripts in borderline personality and posttraumatic stress disorders: a preliminary report

Schmahl

Elzinga

Ebner

et al. 2004

Psychiatry Research

108

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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a highly prevalent and disabling condition linked to early stressors including traumatic abuse and abandonment. While much work has addressed traumatic events in childhood, little is known about the biological sequelae of BPD including how this disorder may be differentiated from other stressrelated disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The purpose of this study was to investigate psychophysiological effects of different types of stressful reminders in BPD and in PTSD. Psychophysiological measures including heart rate, skin conductance responses, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in response to standardized neutral scripts, and personalized scripts of traumatic and abandonment situations were compared among subjects with BPD, PTSD and controls, all with a reported history of sexual andyor physical abuse before age 18. Significant script by diagnosis interactions are found for skin conductance and systolic blood pressure. No significant effects were found for diastolic blood pressure or heart rate. In the PTSD group the greatest systolic blood pressure responses were to traumatic scripts, whereas patients with BPD showed a tendency towards greater skin conductance responses to abandonment scripts. Our findings reveal only partially different psychophysiological responses to traumatic and abandonment scripts in PTSD and BPD. A divergence in pathophysiology in these two disorders is suggested that may be linked to childhood trauma. However, this interpretation must be tested in a larger population.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 80%

“…The first study of physiological correlates of emotional stress in BPD was conducted by Herpertz et al (1999). They examined 24 female patients with BPD and compared them with 27 normal control subjects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychophysiological reactivity to traumatic and abandonment scripts in borderline personality and posttraumatic stress disorders: a preliminary report

Schmahl

Elzinga

Ebner

et al. 2004

Psychiatry Research

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Für andere Autoren steht die emotionale Dysregulation oder die Beziehungsstörung bei der Borderline-Persönlich-keitsstörung im Zentrum der Psychopathologie [37,38]. Ergebnisse von Validitätsstudien der DSM-IV-Kriterien deuten darauf hin, dass das Kriterium «instabile Beziehungen» die höchste diagnostische Effizienz aufweist [39,40].…”

Section: Diskussionunclassified

Identität und Identiätsstörung bei Persönlichkeitsstörungen: Definition, Konzeptionen und Perspektiven aus psychodynamischer Sicht

2008

Swiss Arch Neurol Psychiatr

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“…Schmahl et al [7] measured heart rate, blood pressure and skin conductance in BPD patients and found no evidence for hyperarousal in BPD patients as compared to controls. As an explanation for the lowered physiological responses in the study by Herpertz et al [6], the authors suggested the presence of hyporesponsiveness instead of hyperresponsiveness in BPD patients. This hyporesponsiveness in BPD patients might create an openness to emotional stimuli in order to compensate for their feelings of underarousal and emptiness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For example, Herpertz et al [6] found that when examining levels of heart rate, startle response and skin conductance responses to emotional stimuli, BPD subjects responded by lower physiological arousal as compared to control subjects. Schmahl et al [7] measured heart rate, blood pressure and skin conductance in BPD patients and found no evidence for hyperarousal in BPD patients as compared to controls.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anhedonia in Borderline Personality Disorder and Its Relation to Symptoms of Impulsivity

2012

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Background: Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) report strong negative affect and show impulsive, disruptive behaviors. The role of anhedonia, or the inability to experience positive affect, has been less examined in BPD. The present study examined the role of anhedonia in BPD patients and its relation to symptoms of impulsivity. Sampling and Methods: Anhedonia, affect, impulsivity and BPD symptoms were measured in BPD patients and healthy control participants. Results: It was found that BPD patients showed abnormally high anhedonia levels. In addition, anhedonia was found to be positively related to dysfunctional impulsivity in the BPD patient group, while in the control group, anhedonia was related to withdrawal behaviors. A strong relation was found between anhedonia and BPD symptoms, emphasizing the relevance of anhedonia as an important symptom of BPD. Finally, anhedonia was found to be an important contributor to the severity of borderline symptoms, independently of other factors such as affect and impulsivity. Conclusions: The results underline that anhedonia might be an important but currently overlooked feature of BPD. The results further suggest that anhedonia is associated with the impulsive behaviors that are typically observed in borderline patients.

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Affective Responsiveness in Borderline Personality Disorder: A Psychophysiological Approach

Cited by 212 publications

References 19 publications

Psychophysiological reactivity to traumatic and abandonment scripts in borderline personality and posttraumatic stress disorders: a preliminary report

Psychophysiological reactivity to traumatic and abandonment scripts in borderline personality and posttraumatic stress disorders: a preliminary report

Identität und Identiätsstörung bei Persönlichkeitsstörungen: Definition, Konzeptionen und Perspektiven aus psychodynamischer Sicht

Anhedonia in Borderline Personality Disorder and Its Relation to Symptoms of Impulsivity

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