Reduced interhemispheric structural connectivity between anterior cingulate cortices in borderline personality disorder

Rüsch, Nicolas; Bracht, Tobias; Kreher, Björn W.; Schnell, Susanne; Glauche, Volkmar; Il'yasov, Kamil A.; Ebert, Dieter; Lieb, Klaus; Hennig, Jürgen; Saur, Dorothee; van Elst, Ludger Tebartz

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2009.08.004

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 181, Issue 2 , Pages 151-154, 28 February 2010

Reduced interhemispheric structural connectivity between anterior cingulate cortices in borderline personality disorder

Nicolas Rüsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 5, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. Tel.: +49 761 270 6501; fax: +49 761 270 6619.
Tobias Bracht
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany
Björn W. Kreher
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, University of Freiburg, Germany
Susanne Schnell
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, University of Freiburg, Germany
Volkmar Glauche
- Department of Neurology, University of Freiburg, Germany
Kamil A. Il'yasov
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, University of Freiburg, Germany
Dieter Ebert
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany
Klaus Lieb
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Mainz, Germany
Jürgen Hennig
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, University of Freiburg, Germany
Dorothee Saur
- Department of Neurology, University of Freiburg, Germany
- The last two authors contributed equally.
Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany
- The last two authors contributed equally.

Received 12 November 2008; received in revised form 14 June 2009; accepted 28 August 2009.

Abstract

Functional and structural alterations of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a key region for emotional and cognitive processing, are associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, the interhemispheric structural connectivity between the left and right ACC and between other prefrontal regions in this condition is unknown. We acquired diffusion-tensor imaging data from 20 healthy women and 19 women with BPD and comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Interhemispheric structural connectivity between both sides of the ACC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and medial orbitofrontal cortices was assessed by a novel probabilistic diffusion tensor-based fiber tracking method. In the BPD group as compared with healthy controls, we found decreased interhemispheric structural connectivity between both ACCs in fiber tracts that pass through the anterior corpus callosum and connect dorsal areas of the ACCs. Decreased interhemispheric structural connectivity between both ACCs may be a structural correlate of BPD.

Keywords: Diffusion-tensor imaging, Structural neuroimaging, Fiber tracking