Archival ReportEmotional Vulnerability in Borderline Personality Disorder Is Cue Specific and Modulated by Traumatization
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Participants
Forty BPD patients (3 male patients) and 32 healthy control subjects (5 male subjects) matched for age, education, and nicotine consumption participated in this experiment (Table 1). Individuals with BPD were inpatients from the Clinic of Psychiatry at the University of Greifswald. All patients met DSM-IV criteria for BPD, assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis II Disorders (German version) (28). Comorbidity of Axis I disorders was assessed with the Structured Clinical
Startle Reflex Magnitudes
Blink magnitudes were significantly modulated by the emotional categories of the scripts during imagery [category, F(3,192) = 5.84, p < .01] but not during reading of the scripts.3 Startle responses elicited during imagery of idiographic aversive and unpleasant scripts were potentiated relative to neutral contents, while blink
Discussion
Confirming previous research with this paradigm, imagery of unpleasant scenes prompted a clear potentiation of the startle response and increased autonomic arousal. Thus, script-driven imagery is an efficient method to activate emotional networks in the brain. In the current study, emotional modulation of the defensive reflexes and the autonomic responses did not vary between BPD patients and healthy control subjects if standardized emotional scripts were used. These data confirm previous
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