Neuropsychological, Psychophysiological, and Personality Assessment of DSM-IV Clusters of Personality Disorders

Abstract

Testing the construct validity of the three DSM-IV cluster groupings of personality disorders, in terms of neuropsychological, psychophysiological, and personality traits measures, was the purpose of this study. The results hardly confirm significant differences between B and C cluster groups in their neuropsychological functioning, but, instead, suggest that Cluster A could have some empirical validity based on executive prefrontal deficits (concept formation and sustained attention tasks) and clinical features. Similarly, no consistent differences among groups emerge when psychophysiological measures are compared. With regard to the Big-Five personality dimensions, the results also indicate that clusters may be more heterogeneous than the DSM-IV suggests. It appears, therefore, that the categorical division of DSM personality disorders into three discrete clusters may not be empirically justified.

The Neuropsychological Correlates of Borderline Personality Disorder and Suicidal Behaviour

“…These recent technological advances are strengthening support for the view that biological underpinnings are implicated in the disorder (4,19,37,45). Greater conformity to standardized research diagnosis; use of healthy, psychiatric, and comorbid control subjects; larger samples; use of convergent computerized and manual NP tests; and greater attention to relevant confounds generally characterize these investigations (3,18,36,38,(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57). However, the inclusion or exclusion of subjects with mild neurologic comorbidity (that is, with TBI, ADHD, LD, or epilepsy) continues to vary across studies (5,19,37) and detracts from the comparisons among samples.…”

“…The controlled studies were matched for age, education, sex, and less frequently, IQ-all believed to affect NP function. Only 5 investigators (19,(35)(36)(37)(38) failed to find significant NP impairment in BPD.…”

“…Slowed processing underlies many attentional disorders, which can have broad effects on all aspects of attention. Fifteen studies examined selective and sustained attention by means of the CPT, ANT, computerized BWM test, or Digit Symbol modalities; of the 15 studies, 60% found general or specific impairment (3,4,18,40,42,47,49,53,54), with negative results also reported (19,38,41,44,45,65).…”

Impulsivity in Borderline Personality Disorder: Impairment in Self-Report Measures, but Not Behavioral Inhibition

“…In Swirsky-Sacchetti et al [24] , the Stroop performance in 10 BPD subjects was compared with HC, and a significantly impaired performance was found in the BPD subjects; however, this BPD group showed decreased IQ levels as compared to HC as well. A study [25] investigating performance in the Stroop test in patients with PD according to the different DSM-IV clusters found an impaired Stroop performance in cluster B patients as compared to cluster A and C patients. In a study by de Bruijn et al [26] , the performance in a flanker task was investigated in 12 BPD patients, a task which also demands that subjects suppress irrelevant stimuli.…”

Affective Decision Making in Women With Borderline Personality Disorder

“…For instance, Stroop interference represents a form of cognitive control involving the deliberate suppression of interfering thoughts. This type of inhibition is frequently impaired in BPD (Besteiro-Gonzalez, Lemos-Giraldez, Muniz, 2004;Monarch, Saykin, & Flashman, 2004;Swirskey-Sachetti et al, 1993). Behavioral inhibition, as indexed by the Stop Signal and Go No Go tasks, are known to target the motor dimensions of inhibition.…”