Executive Dysfunction Associated With the Primary Psychopathic Features of Borderline Personality Disorder

José M López-Villatoro,José L Carrasco,Irene De La Vega,Marina Diaz-Marsá,Blanca Mellor-Marsá

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.514905

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the presence of psychopathic features in BPD is related to dysfunction in executive functions and other neuropsychological functions in these patients.Methods: 82 patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and 54 control subjects were studied through clinical and neuropsychological evaluation protocols and the Levenson Psychopathy Inventory.Results: BPD patients showed significantly higher scores on both primary (F1) and secondary (F2) global rates of psychopathy, than controls. The results for these patients also showed a statistically significant association between high scores in primary psychopathy and deficits in executive functions. However, no associations were found between the scores of secondary psychopathy and executive dysfunction.Conclusion: Primary psychopathic features present in patients with BPD are associated with patterns of executive dysfunction. It would therefore be interesting to investigate the role of cognitive rehabilitation in the empathy dysfunctions within these disorders.

Highlights

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe and persistent mental disorder characterized by affective instability and impulsive behaviors, which affects self-image, interpersonal relationships, affectivity and behavior [1].Several studies have found cognitive deficits in the executive functions of patients with BPD, the results of these studies show alterations in different domains of executive function [2,3,4,5]
Regarding executive functions (EF), the available evidence suggests that individuals with high levels of psychopathy do not show deficits in executive function tasks, or may even show executive functioning scores over the population mean [19]. Given these questions and considering the importance that the association between BPD, psychopathy and neuropsychological dysfunction can have for the correct diagnosis, prediction and treatment of BPD, the objective of the present study is to investigate the association between psychopathic traits and clinical characteristics of borderline personality disorder, as well as to investigate whether BPD patients with a higher rate of psychopathy show a different performance in executive functions and in attention and memory
The results show significant differences in the LSRPS scores, both in the total psychopathy index and in the primary psychopathy (F1) and secondary psychopathy (F2) indexes

Summary

Introduction

Several studies have found cognitive deficits in the executive functions of patients with BPD, the results of these studies show alterations in different domains of executive function [2,3,4,5]. These studies have shown significant deficits in both decision making and cognitive flexibility and planning. Along with the difficulties in executive function tasks, a worse performance in attention, memory and processing speed and a deficit in verbal fluency have been found in BPD patients in comparison to the control group [2, 4, 5].

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Discussion

Conclusion