Document Detail


Metabolic alterations in the amygdala in borderline personality disorder: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19931853     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Emotional dysfunction in a frontolimbic network has been implicated in the pathophysiology of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The amygdala is a key region of the limbic system and plays an important role in impulsivity, affect regulation, and emotional information processing and thus is likely related to BPD symptoms. Alterations of the metabolism in the amygdala might be of interest for understanding the pathophysiology of BPD. However, the amygdala is a difficult region from which to acquire magnetic resonance spectra. We implemented a method for proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) at 3.0 T in which we acquire data within only the small amygdala. The purpose of this study was to determine alterations of the metabolism in the amygdala in BPD patients. METHODS: Twenty-one unmedicated BPD patients and 20 age-matched healthy control participants underwent (1)H MRS to determine neurometabolite concentrations in the left amygdala. All participants underwent psychometric assessments. RESULTS: Significantly reduced total N-acetylaspartate (tNAA) and total creatine (tCr) concentrations in the left amygdala of patients with BPD were found. BPD patients with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed lower levels of tCr compared with BPD patients without PTSD and healthy control subjects. No significant correlations between neurochemical concentrations and psychometric measures were found. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased tNAA and tCr might indicate disturbed affect regulation and emotional information processing in the amygdala of BPD patients. These findings are consistent with many functional and structural neuroimaging studies and may help to explain the greater emotional reactivity of BPD patients.
Authors:
Mareen Hoerst; Wolfgang Weber-Fahr; Nuran Tunc-Skarka; Matthias Ruf; Martin Bohus; Christian Schmahl; Gabriele Ende
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2009-11-22
Journal Detail:
Title:  Biological psychiatry     Volume:  67     ISSN:  1873-2402     ISO Abbreviation:  Biol. Psychiatry     Publication Date:  2010 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-02-17     Completed Date:  2010-05-20     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0213264     Medline TA:  Biol Psychiatry     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  399-405     Citation Subset:  IM    
Copyright Information:
Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, 68159 Mannheim, Germany. mareen.hoerst@zi-mannheim.de
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Amygdala / metabolism*
Aspartic Acid / analogs & derivatives,  metabolism
Borderline Personality Disorder / epidemiology,  metabolism*,  psychology
Creatine / metabolism
Female
Functional Laterality / physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / methods*
Male
Protons / diagnostic use*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology,  metabolism,  psychology
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Protons; 56-84-8/Aspartic Acid; 57-00-1/Creatine; 997-55-7/N-acetylaspartate

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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