Labelling.

[icu_baby]

More information:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Volumes of the Hippocampus and the Amygdala in Women With Borderline Personality Disorder and Early Traumatization

Martin Driessen, MD, PhD; Jörg Herrmann, MS; Kerstin Stahl, MS; Martin Zwaan, MD, PhD; Szilvia Meier, MD; Andreas Hill, MD; Marita Osterheider, MD; Dirk Petersen, MD, PhD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:1115-1122.

Background Based on findings of stress-induced neural disturbances in animals and smaller hippocampal volumes in humans with posttraumatic stress disorder), we hypothesized that patients with borderline personality disorders (BPD), who often are victims of early traumatization, have smaller volumes of the hippocampus and the amygdala. We assumed that volumes of these brain regions are negatively correlated with traumatic experiences and with neuropsychological deficits.

Methods We studied 21 female patients with BPD and a similar group of healthy controls. We performed clinical assessments, a modified version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and magnetic resonance imaging volumetric measurements of the hippocampus, amygdala, temporal lobes, and prosencephalon. Neuropsychological testing included scales on which disturbances in BPD were previously reported.

Results The patients with BPD had nearly 16% smaller volumes of the hippocampus (P<.001) and 8% smaller volumes of the amygdala (P<.05) than the healthy controls. The results for both hemispheres were nearly identical and were controlled for the volume of the prosencephalon and for head tilts. The volumes of the hippocampus were negatively correlated with the extent and the duration of self-reported early traumatization only when BPD and control subjects were considered together. Levels of neuropsychological functioning were associated with the severity of depression but not with the volumes of the hippocampus.

Conclusion In female patients with BPD, we found reduction of the volumes of the hippocampus (and perhaps of the amygdala), but the association of volume reduction and traumatic experiences remains unclear.

From the Department of Psychiatry (Drs Driessen, Meier, and Hill, and Mr Herrmann, and Ms Stahl) and Institute of Radiology (Drs Osterheider and Petersen), Luebeck School of Medicine, Luebeck, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Gilead Hospital, Bethel, Bielefeld, Germany (Dr Driessen); and Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Ammerland-Clinic, Westerstede, Germany (Dr Zwaan).

[icu_baby]

Just my two sense worth but I think that somehow early childhood trauma effects the brain in that some how the volumes of hippocamus is reduced. I mean this is a really bad analogy but what about children who are not fed enough omega 3 as babies, don't they generally have lower IQ's then babies who are had a high omega 3 diet. Maybe the way you are brought up effects how your brain develops. One day we will know...

[icu_baby]

I love this quote which describes a person with BPD:

""Elton John's characterization of Marilyn Monroe as a candle in the wind captures the essence of the borderline personality".

[CharcoalKiss]

I love this quote which describes a person with BPD:

""Elton John's characterization of Marilyn Monroe as a candle in the wind captures the essence of the borderline personality".

I tend to think that my BPD is both caused by genetic predisposition - inheritance of my parents mental dysfunctions; formation of my brain and chemical/hormonal - In combination with life experiences.

My psychology studies have taught me that a persons personality is created by both their biology and their life experiences and i hold this to be true. As has been said before there are people who have suffered trauma and don't have BPD, as well as people who have BPD and yet have never suffered trauma. So it must be something in the middle that acts as the 'cause'.

[icu_baby]

I love this quote which describes a person with BPD:

""Elton John's characterization of Marilyn Monroe as a candle in the wind captures the essence of the borderline personality".

I tend to think that my BPD is both caused by genetic predisposition - inheritance of my parents mental dysfunctions; formation of my brain and chemical/hormonal - In combination with life experiences.

My psychology studies have taught me that a persons personality is created by both their biology and their life experiences and i hold this to be true. As has been said before there are people who have suffered trauma and don't have BPD, as well as people who have BPD and yet have never suffered trauma. So it must be something in the middle that acts as the 'cause'.

lol @ your parnts dysfunctions...my dad always says don't blame me for your problems.

I agree with you and I support the theory that a reduction in the volume of hippocampus and amygdala in people with BPD has a connection with early childhood trauma/life experiences too, though know one knows how it works yet.

Another part of the theory

"Another part believed to be involved is the orbital prefrontal cortex, which also has a very important role in regulating emotions. Particularly, it has been found that the orbital prefrontal cortex has a very important role with the inhibition of the limbic regions, which are concerned with generating aggression. The way that aggression is inhibited is through the serotonin system where the chemical serotonin regulates the activity in the prefrontal cortex and therefore when that is reduced, the problem with inhibiting that activity occurs (7). Therefore any damage to it could also result in emotional expression problems, which can definitely be seen in people with BPD as they move through very dramatic and severe emotions. One study done by Paul Soloff, M.D. and his associates found lower levels of glucose in the prefrontal cortex of people with BPD where glucose levels are associated with serotonin. If there are low levels of glucose, then that signifies that there is a deficient amount of serotonin (6), which could support the theory of the function of the serotonin system with the prefrontal cortex and BPD".

I don't agree with your professor that BPD is a personality disorder though I like the fact that he said its a serious condition and its reminicent of a mood disorder But how can BPD be just personality, I mean I think it is a mental illness. Fear of abandonment suggests some sort of PTSD. Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental illness, we don't say that it is part of a persons personality to obess and do compusive things, we recognise it as part of their illness. We recognise anxiety disorders as a mental illness, why can't BPD and fear of abandonment and all the other our behaviour be viewed as a symptom of our illness rather then our personality.

I will be interested to see what they do with the BPD in the new DSM which will come out in 2010. Will they change the name to emotional dysfunction disorder or something more accurate then "borderline", will it finally be recognised at an axis I disorder rather than an axis II?

[CharcoalKiss]

I love this quote which describes a person with BPD:

""Elton John's characterization of Marilyn Monroe as a candle in the wind captures the essence of the borderline personality".

I tend to think that my BPD is both caused by genetic predisposition - inheritance of my parents mental dysfunctions; formation of my brain and chemical/hormonal - In combination with life experiences.

My psychology studies have taught me that a persons personality is created by both their biology and their life experiences and i hold this to be true. As has been said before there are people who have suffered trauma and don't have BPD, as well as people who have BPD and yet have never suffered trauma. So it must be something in the middle that acts as the 'cause'.

lol @ your parnts dysfunctions...my dad always says don't blame me for your problems.

I agree with you and I support the theory that a reduction in the volume of hippocampus and amygdala in people with BPD has a connection with early childhood trauma/life experiences too, though know one knows how it works yet.

Another part of the theory

"Another part believed to be involved is the orbital prefrontal cortex, which also has a very important role in regulating emotions. Particularly, it has been found that the orbital prefrontal cortex has a very important role with the inhibition of the limbic regions, which are concerned with generating aggression. The way that aggression is inhibited is through the serotonin system where the chemical serotonin regulates the activity in the prefrontal cortex and therefore when that is reduced, the problem with inhibiting that activity occurs (7). Therefore any damage to it could also result in emotional expression problems, which can definitely be seen in people with BPD as they move through very dramatic and severe emotions. One study done by Paul Soloff, M.D. and his associates found lower levels of glucose in the prefrontal cortex of people with BPD where glucose levels are associated with serotonin. If there are low levels of glucose, then that signifies that there is a deficient amount of serotonin (6), which could support the theory of the function of the serotonin system with the prefrontal cortex and BPD".

I don't agree with your professor that BPD is a personality disorder though I like the fact that he said its a serious condition and its reminicent of a mood disorder But how can BPD be just personality, I mean I think it is a mental illness. Fear of abandonment suggests some sort of PTSD. Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental illness, we don't say that it is part of a persons personality to obess and do compusive things, we recognise it as part of their illness. We recognise anxiety disorders as a mental illness, why can't BPD and fear of abandonment and all the other our behaviour be viewed as a symptom of our illness rather then our personality.

I will be interested to see what they do with the BPD in the new DSM which will come out in 2010. Will they change the name to emotional dysfunction disorder or something more accurate then "borderline", will it finally be recognised at an axis I disorder rather than an axis II?

... interesting theory points. Gave me more to think about. Thanks for the info!

I'd prefer to think of BPD as a mental disorder then a mental illness.... I'm not of the opinion that BPD makes me ill... just that my moods/personality/behaviours/memory etc are disordered... dysfunctional.... not functioning 'normally' etc... for me illness suggests the need to 'cure' or the ability to 'cure' and that the BPD is something i've 'caught' or 'developed', where i see it more as an attachment of me. lol.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental 'illness'... but Obsessive Compulsive PERSONALITY Disorder is something different... it's a DISORDER in my view, rather than an illness.

I agree with what you say about viewing these things as symptoms rather then actually being the personality... and i kinda see it that way, although i refer to it more as an attachment then symptoms. For instance, my fear of being abandoned is an attachment to the inherant want in humans to not be alone. Humans are not built for being solitary creatures We crave love and comfort and attention... and the extremeness of my want for this and the fear of abandonment that goes with it, i see as more of an attachment to the 'normality' of the want in humans. (Does that even make sense??? lol)

I'm also interested to see the definition in the DSM.

[katannsuz]

I havn't told anyone my diagnosis because first they can't understand if they don't live it and second I don't want people to know i'm mentall ill. As for the comparison to cancer, I wish i did have cancer rather than bpd. At least I wouldn't feel i have to hide it, I think, and with cancer, at least you know the pain will end. bpd pain is forever.

[icu_baby]

I havn't told anyone my diagnosis because first they can't understand if they don't live it and second I don't want people to know i'm mentall ill. As for the comparison to cancer, I wish i did have cancer rather than bpd. At least I wouldn't feel i have to hide it, I think, and with cancer, at least you know the pain will end. bpd pain is forever.

Dear Katannsuz, please try and have hope, its not easy living with the pain but you can manage. Some people have to live with MS or blindness or chronic back pain. This is your pain and you can get some therapy for it...its not the end of the world. There is nothing to be ashamed of in having a mental illness, but if you really don't want that just call it a personality disorder, but remember that it is not you, you are not borderline. There is much much much much more to your personality and character, intelligence then your borderline traits.

[wednesday]

More information:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Volumes of the Hippocampus and the Amygdala in Women With Borderline Personality Disorder and Early Traumatization

Martin Driessen, MD, PhD; Jörg Herrmann, MS; Kerstin Stahl, MS; Martin Zwaan, MD, PhD; Szilvia Meier, MD; Andreas Hill, MD; Marita Osterheider, MD; Dirk Petersen, MD, PhD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:1115-1122.

Background Based on findings of stress-induced neural disturbances in animals and smaller hippocampal volumes in humans with posttraumatic stress disorder), we hypothesized that patients with borderline personality disorders (BPD), who often are victims of early traumatization, have smaller volumes of the hippocampus and the amygdala. We assumed that volumes of these brain regions are negatively correlated with traumatic experiences and with neuropsychological deficits.

Methods We studied 21 female patients with BPD and a similar group of healthy controls. We performed clinical assessments, a modified version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and magnetic resonance imaging volumetric measurements of the hippocampus, amygdala, temporal lobes, and prosencephalon. Neuropsychological testing included scales on which disturbances in BPD were previously reported.

Results The patients with BPD had nearly 16% smaller volumes of the hippocampus (P<.001) and 8% smaller volumes of the amygdala (P<.05) than the healthy controls. The results for both hemispheres were nearly identical and were controlled for the volume of the prosencephalon and for head tilts. The volumes of the hippocampus were negatively correlated with the extent and the duration of self-reported early traumatization only when BPD and control subjects were considered together. Levels of neuropsychological functioning were associated with the severity of depression but not with the volumes of the hippocampus.

Conclusion In female patients with BPD, we found reduction of the volumes of the hippocampus (and perhaps of the amygdala), but the association of volume reduction and traumatic experiences remains unclear.

From the Department of Psychiatry (Drs Driessen, Meier, and Hill, and Mr Herrmann, and Ms Stahl) and Institute of Radiology (Drs Osterheider and Petersen), Luebeck School of Medicine, Luebeck, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Gilead Hospital, Bethel, Bielefeld, Germany (Dr Driessen); and Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Ammerland-Clinic, Westerstede, Germany (Dr Zwaan).

It strikes me that you cannot take too much notice of this study since it rests on the subjective views of childhood trauma. Bpd patients will be much more aware of any trauma suffered in childhood compared to the normal population since we search for reasons for our condition and most of us have been in therapy.