Association of white matter microstructural alteration with non-suicidal self-injury behavior and visual working memory in adolescents with borderline personality disorder

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI) is the core characteristic of adolescent borderline personality disorder (BPD) and visual working memory is involved in the pathological processes of BPD. This study aimed to investigate alterations in white matter microstructure and their association with NSSI and visual working memory in adolescents with BPD. 53 adolescents diagnosed with BPD and 39 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. White matter microstructure was assessed with the fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Correlation analysis was performed to assess the association between FA/MD and core features of BPD. A mediation analysis was performed to test whether the effects of white matter alterations on NSSI could be mediated by visual working memory. Adolescents with BPD showed a reduced FA and an increased MD in the cortical-limbic and cortical-thalamus circuit when compared to the HCs (p<0.05). Increased MD was positively correlated with NSSI, impulse control and identity disturbance (p<0.05), and was negatively correlated with the score of visual reproduction. Reserved visual working memory masked the effects of white matter microstructural alterations on NSSI behavior. White matter microstructural deficits in the cortical-limbic and cortical-thalamus circuits may be associated with NSSI and visual working memory in adolescents with BPD. Reserved visual working memory may protect against NSSI.