None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
In our previous study we investigated by fMRI which are the differences of brain activation between BPD patients with a low level of identity integration and healthy controls during a task of autobiographical memory. Based on the recent findings about neural correlates involved in patients with BPD during autobiographical memories we analyze the hemodynamic response in some regions of interest (ROIs). We hypothesized that BPD patients with a deficit in identity integration may present a higher brain activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and temporal parietal junction during the recall of significant life events, both resolved and unresolved, in comparison with controls. In the present study BPD patients who have participated to the previous study are randomly assigned to (1) interpersonal psychotherapy adapted for BPD-R (IPT-BPD-R) or (2) waiting list+clinical management for 40 weeks. All subjects (BPD patients and healthy controls) have fMRI at baseline and will repeat fMRI with the same task after 40 weeks. We will compare the changes in brain functioning in the ROIs (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and temporal parietal Junction) in the three groups (BPD patients who receive IPT-BPD-R; BPD patients who receive clinical management; and healthy subjects) after 40 weeks. We hypothesize that patients who receive psychotherapy will show a decrease of activity in the regions of interest in comparison with patients in waiting list who receive usual clinical management.
Interventions
Psychotherapy: interpersonal psychotherapy adapted to borderline personality disorder, revised (IPT-BPD-R), consisting of 40 weeks (1 hour sessions/week). This intervention consists of individual sessions of psychotherapy focused on four main problematic areas: interpersonal contrasts; role transition; grief; and interpersonal deficit. Two phone calls (max 10 minutes) per week are allowed to handle crisis. These sessions are provided at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Hospital by a expert therapis
Psychotherapy: interpersonal psychotherapy adapted to borderline personality disorder, revised (IPT-BPD-R), consisting of 40 weeks (1 hour sessions/week). This intervention consists of individual sessions of psychotherapy focused on four main problematic areas: interpersonal contrasts; role transition; grief; and interpersonal deficit. Two phone calls (max 10 minutes) per week are allowed to handle crisis. These sessions are provided at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Hospital by a expert therapist of interpersonal psychotherapy. If patient skips two consecutive sessions the intervention is stopped (and patient is considered as a drop-out).
Sponsors
Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Subjects included in the study have all right handed dominance (assessed with the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is made by an expert clinician and is confirmed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM.IV AxisII Disorders. Healthy subjects are recruited among general population, and are matched for age and gender.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria are: diagnoses of dementia, delirium, and other cognitive disorders; neurological diseases; schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; bipolar disorders; concurrent major depressive episode; substance abuse in the last two months; pharmacological treatments in the last 3 weeks. Female patients of childbearing age were excluded if they were not using adequate birth control methods (according to the judgment of clinicians).
Outcome results
None listed