Affective responsiveness in borderline personality disorder: A psychophysiological approach

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate affective responses to e motional stimuli in subjects with borderline personality disorder. Method: Twenty-four female patients with borderline personality disorder and 27 nor mal female comparison subjects were examined. The test stimuli were a set o f standardized photographic slides with pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant em otional valence. In addition to self-reports, emotional reactions to the sl ides were measured by heart rate; skin conductance, and startle response. P sychometric tests for various aspects of impulsiveness were also completed. Results: Neither self-report nor physiological data gave any evidence that the borderline patients showed more intense affective responses than did t he normal subjects. The borderline subjects did not produce higher levels o f startle amplitude, and while viewing unpleasant slides, they showed a sta rtle potentiation effect that was largely similar to that of the comparison group. In fact, the borderline patients showed low electrodermal responses to all three stimulus categories, which points to physiological underarous al. Conclusions: The results do not agree with the hypothesis that there is a fundamental, biologically based affective hyperresponsiveness in borderl ine personality disorder, as is suggested by current theories of affect dys regulation in the disorder. Autonomic underarousal may seriously interfere with a flexible adaptation to environmental stimuli.