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Neurofeedback for Borderline Personality Disorder

Amygdala rtfMRI Neurofeedback for Borderline Personality Disorder

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05398627
Enrollment
100
Registered
2022-06-01
Start date
2022-09-02
Completion date
2026-04-30
Last updated
2025-11-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Borderline Personality Disorder

Keywords

fMRI neurofeedback, amygdala

Brief summary

The goal of this study is to evaluate whether rtfMRI-nf training to increase the amygdala response to positive memories may serve as an intervention for borderline personality disorder.

Detailed description

We will assess the treatment effects of real-time fMRI neurofeedback in adults with borderline personality disorder. This is an experimental longitudinal design where participants will be followed every two weeks after receiving 2 sessions of neurofeedback from the amygdala . Procedures involve a battery of self-report measures, fMRI and psychophysiological indices (heart rate, respiration).

Interventions

real-time feedback on the hemodynamic response of the amygdala during positive autobiographical memory recall

Sponsors

AE Foundation
CollaboratorOTHER
Kymberly Young
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* right-handed adults (ages 18 - 55) with a primary diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder according to diagnostic criteria in the Structured Interview for DSM Personality Disorders * must be able to give written informed consent prior to participation * unmedicated or stable on an SSRI antidepressant regime (at least 3 weeks to ensure symptoms are stable) * English speaking

Exclusion criteria

* have a clinically significant or unstable cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, neurological, gastrointestinal illness or unstable medical disorder * Current moderate or severe DSM-V alcohol or substance use disorder, with the exception of nicotine or caffeine. Clinician will access subjects' alcohol and substance use on a case-by-case to determine whether specific cases of mild alcohol or substance use would also interfere with the effects of the intervention. * have a history of traumatic brain injury * are unable to complete MRI scan due to claustrophobia or general MRI exclusions (e.g., shrapnel inside body) * are currently pregnant or breast feeding * are unable to complete questionnaires written in English * current (within 3 weeks of testing) use of any antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, or other medications (except SSRI antidepressants) likely to influence cerebral blood flow. Effective medications will not be discontinued for the purposes of the study. Inclusion of patients on stable antidepressant medications was decided in order to allow generalization towards a real world population * have a DSM-5 diagnosis of psychotic or organic mental disorder * have any eye problems or difficulties in corrected vision. * Serious suidicial ideation

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from Baseline in Borderline Scale from the Personality Assessment Inventory at 12 weeksBaseline vs 12 weeksAssessment of severity of borderline symptoms. This scale contains 24 items rated on a four-point scale (0=false to 3=very true). Scores range from 0-72, and are converted to T scores, with higher scores indicating more borderline symptoms. Scores below 59 indicate healthy, scores at or above 70T indicate the respondent is likely to have borderline personality disorder.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from Baseline in Beck Depression Inventory at 12 weeksBaseline vs 12 weeksAssessment of severity of depressive symptoms. This is a 21 item self-report scale with items rated from 0-3 and scores ranging from 0 to 63 with higher scores indicating worse depression. A score less than 13 is considered to be in the healthy range, scores 14-19 indicate mild depression, scores 20-28 indicate moderate depression, scores 29-63 indicate severe depression.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026