Neurobiology of Borderline Personality Disorder

In this chapter, neuroimaging findings in BPD are discussed referring to the three core domains of BPD psychopathology: disturbed emotion processing and emotion dysregulation (including dissociation and altered pain processing), behavioral dysregulation and impulsivity, and interpersonal disturbances. Experimental approaches investigating BPD psychopathology on the subjective, behavioral, and neurobiological levels have become increasingly important for an improved understanding of BPD. Over the past decades, neuroimaging has become one of the most important tools in clinical neurobiology. Neuroimaging includes a broad spectrum of methods such as positron emission tomography (PET), structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), MR spectroscopy, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).