Head: Christian Schmahl
Staff:
Dr. sc. hum Petra Ludäscher; Dr. Iris Klossika; Dipl. Psych. Inga Niedfeldt; Dipl. Psych. Annegret Krause-Utz; Dipl. Psych. Friederike Hinrichs; Dipl. Psych. Dorina Winter; cand. med. Sarah Reitz; cand. med. Teresa Knorz; cand. Med. Anne-Christine Reitz; cand. med. Elisabeth Pfeiffer;
Current Projects
Research Area: Research Area: Mechanisms of Emotion Regulation and Dysregulation
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Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation in Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder before and after Treatment with Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Inga Niedtfeld, Dorina Winter
Affective instability and self-injurious behavior are important features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). These symptoms might be due to a pattern of limbic hyperreactivity paired with dysfunctional prefrontal regulation mechanisms. Current research leads to the assumption that painful stimuli might serve as a possibility to distract attention from emotional contents. According to general emotion regulation models by James Gross and colleagues, negative affect can be attenuated by directing the attentional focus away from aspects of a situation (attentional shift), or by cognitive regulation strategies (reappraisal). Both strategies are targeted within Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (M. Linehan), teaching patients' behavioral skills to establish functional emotion regulation strategies. In this longitudinal study, we aim to investigate the effect of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy on improvement of emotion regulation and underlying neural processes.
The effect of emotional distraction on working memory performance in traumatized patients with borderline personality disorder
Annegret Krause, Cooperation project with Bernet Elzinga, Leiden, The Netherlands
Emotional dysregulation is a core problem in borderline personality disorder (BPD), including emotional hyperreactivity. Enhanced processing of emotional information in BPD patients may interfere with cognitive functioning, for instance working memory performance. Concurrently, executive functions such as working memory play an important role in emotion regulation, which may in turn disturb emotion regulation. Previous neuropsychological studies have revealed inconsistent findings. However, studies investigating the influence of emotional states on cognitive functioning in BPD on a behavioral and neurobiological level are still lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of neutral and emotional distraction on working memory performance in a modified Sternberg-item-recognition task in BPD-patients and healthy subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The impact of aversive inner tension on impulsivity in patients with borderline personality disorder, attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder and healthy subjects
Annegret Krause, Anne-Christine Reitz
Impulsivity is seen as a core feature in borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, previous studies investigating impulsivity in BPD-patients have revealed inconsistent findings regarding a heightened impulsive behaviour compared to controls. This may be due to different methodological aspects like varying concepts of impulsivity and sample-differences regarding ADHD comorbidity. The aim of this study is to understand the role of impulsivity in BPD by differentiating more precisely between different components of impulsivity, considering the influence of aversive inner tension on impulsive behaviour and comparing BPD to ADHD in different aspects of impulsivity. 15 patients with BPD, 15 patients with ADHD, 15 patients with BPD and comorbid ADHD and 15 healthy controls will be investigated with self-report-measurements and laboratory tasks before and after a stress induction.
Research Area: Pain Processing in Stress-associated Disorders
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Laser heat pain thresholds in patients with borderline personality disorder
Petra Ludäscher
Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show higher pain thresholds as compared to healthy controls. In the present study we investigate the correlation of reduced pain sensitivity with frequency, intensity and method of self-injurious behavior in patients with BPD. In addition we investigate the change of pain sensitivity during the psychotherapeutic treatment within a longitudinal design. Characterization of antinociception in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) – a parametric laser study
Iris Klossika
Does the reduced pain perception that is often found in BPD patients result from the interaction of specified brain regions? In previous studies of our research department, noticeable differences in activation between BPD patients and healthy control subjects were detected in brain regions which are known to be relevant in pain perception. These differences may indicate an underlying mechanism which results in a reduced pain sensitivity in the patient group. The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between activation in the respective brain regions on the one side and objective as well as subjective stimulus intensity on the other. These relations are to be investigated in healthy subjects as well as BPD patients. We use the method of applying painful laser heat stimuli on the back of the subject’s hand while measuring the brain activity with fMRI. Differiental processing of superficial and deep pain in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD)
Iris Klossika
The reduction of pain sensitivity in BPD-patients has been a stable finding over the last ten years. However, experimental stimuli used in the respective experiments generally qualified as so-called superficial pain (touching the surface, e. g. heat pain). Experiments with depressive patients suggest that the neuronal processing of deep pain, such as ischemic muscle pain, is different from superficial pain processing.
In our present study we aim to compare the neuronal processing of superficial and deep pain in patients with BPD, as compared to healthy control subjects. We expect borderline patients to be less sensitive in regard to both kinds of pain, and we expect this phenomenon to correlate with an over-activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, indicating a mediating role of cognitive control.
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG) The influence of hydrocortisone on the processing of traumatic memory in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder
Based on known inhibitory effects of elevated endogenous cortisol release as well as of glucocorticoid administration on memory retrieval, we investigate the influence of glucocorticoids on traumatic memories in patients with complex posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within a randomized controlled trial. Furthermore, we assess neural correlates of intrusions and the influence of glucocorticoids on brain activation during intrusive memories with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Research Area: Dissociation and Self-injurious Behavior
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Experimental study about the influence of present-state dissociative experience on learning and information processing.
Dorina Winter, Friederike Hinrichs, Elisabeth Pfeiffer
Several studies found that dissociation influences therapy outcome. Little is known about the influence of dissociation on basic learning mechanisms and information processing that underly therapeutical strategies. In post-hoc analyses of a conditioning study we found BPD patients with high present-state dissociative experience to be unable to learn the association. As we could show that script-driven imagery reliably induced dissociation in BPD patients, the next step will be to use this methodology and focus on alterations in information processing, learning and memory processes during induced dissociative states.
Neurobiological Correlates of Self-Injurious Behavior
Christian Schmahl, Sarah Reitz, Teresa Knorz
Self-Injurious Behavior is frequent in stress-associated disorders, e.g. in Borderline Personality Disorder. This project aims to investigate different aspects of this behavior, e.g. tissue damage, during fMRI.
Research Area: Social Interaction (in collaboration with Research Unit Therapy Development)
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Social Perception in Borderline Personality Disorder
Inga Niedtfeld
Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder show affective instability, possibly contributing to a pattern of unstable social relationships. Furthermore, BPD patients seem to be hypersensitive in the interpersonal context, more frequently anticipating rejection in social situations. This could result from misinterpretation of ambiguous social cues in terms of a negativity bias. The aim of this project is to investigate perception processes which might guide the evaluation of social cues.
Social Interactions in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder
Melanie Domsalla, Julia Ziegler
Problems in social relationships are important features of borderline personality disorder. The aim of this project is to investigate mechanisms and neural correlates of the perception of social situations and interactions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and virtual reality (VR).
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