Altered resting-state functional connectivity and its association with executive function in adolescents with borderline personality disorder

Xiaoping Yi; Xueying Wang; Yan Fu; Furong Jiang; Zhejia Zhang; Jing Wang; Zaide Han; Qian Xiao; Bihong T Chen

doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02277-7

Altered resting-state functional connectivity and its association with executive function in adolescents with borderline personality disorder

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 9. doi: 10.1007/s00787-023-02277-7. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiaoping Yi^{1

2

3

4

5

6}, Xueying Wang^{1

2

3}, Yan Fu^{1

2

3}, Furong Jiang⁷, Zhejia Zhang⁸, Jing Wang⁹, Zaide Han³, Qian Xiao^{10

11}, Bihong T Chen¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
² National Engineering Research Center of Personalized Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technology, Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
³ National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya Hospital), Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁶ Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁷ Mental Health Center of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁸ Department of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
¹⁰ Department of Radiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China. xiaoqian851112@126.com.
¹¹ Mental Health Center of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, People's Republic of China. xiaoqian851112@126.com.
¹² Department of Diagnostic Radiology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA.

PMID: 37555869
DOI: 10.1007/s00787-023-02277-7

Abstract

Adolescents with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may have impaired executive functions. There are few functional MRI (fMRI) studies in adolescents with BPD and the neuroimaging markers of this disorder are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) of BPD in adolescents, and to explore the relationship between FC changes and executive function in adolescents with BPD. 50 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with BPD and 21 gender-and-age matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled into the study. Brain MRI scan including a 3D-T1 weighted structural sequence and a resting-state fMRI was acquired. A seed-based FC analysis was performed. We used the Stroop color-word test (SCWT) and the trail making test (TMT) to evaluate the executive function of the participants. Correlative analysis of FC alterations with executive function and clinical symptoms was also performed. Compared to the HCs, adolescents with BPD showed increased FC in the limbic-cortical circuit, such as the FC between the left hippocampus and right parahippocampal gyrus, between the right middle occipital gyrus and the left middle temporal gyrus, and between the left medial superior frontal gyrus and the right inferior temporal gyrus. FC in the default mode network (DMN) was decreased between the left angular gyrus and the left precuneus but increased between the left angular gyrus and the right anterior cingulate cortex (voxel P < 0.001, cluster P < 0.05, FWE corrected). The BPD group demonstrated significantly lower cognitive testing scores than the HC group on the SCWT-A (P < 0.001), SCWT-B (P < 0.001), and SCWT-C (P = 0.034). The FC alterations between limbic system and cortical regions were associated with SCWT and TMT (P < 0.05). FC alterations were noted in both limbic-cortical circuit and DMN in adolescents with BPD, which were associated with impaired executive function. This study implicated the FC alterations as the neural correlates of executive functioning in adolescents with BPD.

Keywords: Adolescent borderline personality disorder; Default Mode Network (DMN); Executive function; Functional connectivity; Limbic—cortical circuit; MRI.

Abstract

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