Neurophysiological activity following rewards and losses among female adolescents and young adults with borderline personality disorder.

Summary & key facts

This study recorded brain activity (EEG) while 68 females aged 13–23 (35 with borderline personality disorder, 33 healthy) did a guessing task with equal wins and losses. People with BPD showed less difference in their brain responses to wins versus losses than healthy peers. Time-frequency tests suggested this smaller difference was mainly because the BPD group had a weaker brain response to wins (reward) rather than a stronger response to losses.

Key facts:

• Sample: 68 female participants aged 13–23 years. 35 had BPD and 33 were healthy controls.
• Task: a guessing game where wins and losses occurred equally often while EEG was recorded.
• Main ERP result: the BPD group showed a smaller difference between wins and losses in the Reward Positivity (RewP) compared to healthy controls.
• Timing and meaning: the RewP (also called the feedback-related potential) is seen about 200–400 ms after feedback and reflects how the brain differentiates wins from losses.
• Time-frequency result: delta activity (< 3 Hz) was linked to wins and theta activity (4–7 Hz) to losses. Healthy controls had significantly larger delta power to wins than the BPD group.
• No group differences were found for delta power to losses or for theta power to wins or losses.
• Limitations: the study was cross-sectional, included only females, and had a modest sample size, so results do not prove cause and may not apply to males or all age groups.

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and debilitating psychiatric illness. Prior research in adults has shown that neurophysiological deficits in feedback processing and learning from rewards may be central to the development of BPD; however, little research has examined these markers in adolescents and young adults with BPD. The present study used event-related potentials and time-frequency decomposition analysis to probe neural responses to wins and losses in a guessing task among 68 females (13 to 23 years old) either with BPD (n = 35) or no history of mental disorders (healthy control [HC]; n = 33). Participants completed a guessing task wherein they won and lost money at equal frequencies while electroencephalogram (EEG) data were acquired. Adolescents and young adults with BPD showed a smaller differentiation between wins and losses in the reward positivity (RewP) relative to HCs. Using time-frequency decomposition, we isolated distinct frequency bands sensitive to wins (delta = < 3Hz) and losses (theta = 4 Hz to 7 Hz). Compared with BPD participants, HCs showed significantly larger delta power to wins, specifically. The groups did not differ in delta power to losses, nor theta power to wins or losses. Collectively, findings implicate altered reward processing in the pathophysiology of BPD and may inform early identification and targeted intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Topics

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Mental Health Research Topics Personality Disorders and Psychopathology

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Audiology Borderline personality disorder Clinical psychology Developmental psychology Economics Electroencephalography Intervention (counseling) Law Management Medicine MEDLINE Neurophysiology Personality Political science Psychiatry Psychology PsycINFO Social psychology Task (project management) Young adult