Citation

Rüsch N, Luders E, Lieb K, Zahn R, Ebert D, Thompson PM, Toga AW, van Elst LT. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2007; 32(6): 417-422.

Affiliation

Rüsch, Zahn, Ebert, Tebartz van Elst-Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, and the South German Brain Imaging Center, Freiburg, Germany. nicolas.ruesch@uniklinik-freiburg.de

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Canadian Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

18043765

PMCID

PMC2077349

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Decreased brain volumes in prefrontal, limbic and parietal areas have been found in women with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Recent models suggest impaired structural and functional connectivity in this condition. To investigate this, we studied the thickness of the corpus callosum, the largest connecting fibre bundle in the human brain. METHODS: We acquired magnetic resonance imaging scans from 20 healthy women and 20 women with BPD and comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. A novel computational mesh-based method was applied to measure callosal thickness at high spatial resolution. RESULTS: Women with BPD had a thinner isthmus of the corpus callosum, compared with healthy women. In the patient group, a history of childhood sexual abuse was associated with a thinner posterior body of the corpus callosum. CONCLUSION: Interhemispheric structural connectivity involving parietal and temporal areas may be impaired in women with BPD and comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Language: en