Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study
Abstract Background Maladaptive behaviors and interpersonal difficulties in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) seem connected to biased facial emotion processing. This bias is often accompanied by heightened amygdala activity in patients with BPD as compared to healthy controls. How...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-024-00245-4 |
| _version_ | 1797275847384629248 |
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| author | Monika Radimecká Adéla Látalová Martin Lamoš Martin Jáni Patrik Bartys Alena Damborská Pavel Theiner Pavla Linhartová |
| author_facet | Monika Radimecká Adéla Látalová Martin Lamoš Martin Jáni Patrik Bartys Alena Damborská Pavel Theiner Pavla Linhartová |
| author_sort | Monika Radimecká |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Maladaptive behaviors and interpersonal difficulties in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) seem connected to biased facial emotion processing. This bias is often accompanied by heightened amygdala activity in patients with BPD as compared to healthy controls. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies exploring differences between patients and healthy controls in facial emotion processing have produced divergent results. The current study explored fMRI and heart rate variability (HRV) correlates of negative facial emotion processing in patients with BPD and healthy controls. Methods The study included 30 patients with BPD (29 females; age: M = 24.22, SD = 5.22) and 30 healthy controls (29 females; M = 24.66, SD = 5.28). All participants underwent the “faces” task, an emotional face perception task, in an fMRI session simultaneously with ECG. In this task, participants are presented with emotional expressions of disgust, sadness, and fear (as a negative condition) and with the same pictures in a scrambled version (as a neutral condition). Results We found no differences in brain activity between patients with BPD and healthy controls when processing negative facial expressions as compared to neutral condition. We observed activation in large-scale brain areas in both groups when presented with negative facial expressions as compared to neutral condition. Patients with BPD displayed lower HRV than healthy controls in both conditions. However, there were no significant associations between HRV and amygdala activity and BPD symptoms. Conclusion The results of this study indicate no abnormal brain activity during emotional facial processing in patients with BPD. This result contrasts with previous studies and more studies are needed to clarify the relationship between facial emotion processing and brain activity in patients with BPD. Possible reasons for the absence of brain activity differences are discussed in the study. Consistent with previous findings, patients showed lower HRV than healthy controls. However, HRV was not associated with amygdala activity and BPD symptoms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:19:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5be075b6ee234503ae17dcc865c6c8b1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2051-6673 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:19:54Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation |
| spelling | doaj.art-5be075b6ee234503ae17dcc865c6c8b12024-03-05T17:43:53ZengBMCBorderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation2051-66732024-02-0111111410.1186/s40479-024-00245-4Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG studyMonika Radimecká0Adéla Látalová1Martin Lamoš2Martin Jáni3Patrik Bartys4Alena Damborská5Pavel Theiner6Pavla Linhartová7Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityBrain and Mind Research Program, Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk UniversityAbstract Background Maladaptive behaviors and interpersonal difficulties in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) seem connected to biased facial emotion processing. This bias is often accompanied by heightened amygdala activity in patients with BPD as compared to healthy controls. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies exploring differences between patients and healthy controls in facial emotion processing have produced divergent results. The current study explored fMRI and heart rate variability (HRV) correlates of negative facial emotion processing in patients with BPD and healthy controls. Methods The study included 30 patients with BPD (29 females; age: M = 24.22, SD = 5.22) and 30 healthy controls (29 females; M = 24.66, SD = 5.28). All participants underwent the “faces” task, an emotional face perception task, in an fMRI session simultaneously with ECG. In this task, participants are presented with emotional expressions of disgust, sadness, and fear (as a negative condition) and with the same pictures in a scrambled version (as a neutral condition). Results We found no differences in brain activity between patients with BPD and healthy controls when processing negative facial expressions as compared to neutral condition. We observed activation in large-scale brain areas in both groups when presented with negative facial expressions as compared to neutral condition. Patients with BPD displayed lower HRV than healthy controls in both conditions. However, there were no significant associations between HRV and amygdala activity and BPD symptoms. Conclusion The results of this study indicate no abnormal brain activity during emotional facial processing in patients with BPD. This result contrasts with previous studies and more studies are needed to clarify the relationship between facial emotion processing and brain activity in patients with BPD. Possible reasons for the absence of brain activity differences are discussed in the study. Consistent with previous findings, patients showed lower HRV than healthy controls. However, HRV was not associated with amygdala activity and BPD symptoms.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-024-00245-4Borderline personality disorderFacial emotion processingNegative facial expressionsFaces taskfMRIHeart rate variability |
| spellingShingle | Monika Radimecká Adéla Látalová Martin Lamoš Martin Jáni Patrik Bartys Alena Damborská Pavel Theiner Pavla Linhartová Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation Borderline personality disorder Facial emotion processing Negative facial expressions Faces task fMRI Heart rate variability |
| title | Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study |
| title_full | Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study |
| title_fullStr | Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study |
| title_short | Facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls: an fMRI and ECG study |
| title_sort | facial emotion processing in patients with borderline personality disorder as compared with healthy controls an fmri and ecg study |
| topic | Borderline personality disorder Facial emotion processing Negative facial expressions Faces task fMRI Heart rate variability |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-024-00245-4 |
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