Inhibition and object relations in borderline personality traits after traumatic brain injury

Abstract

This study aims to assess the nature and severity of borderline traits after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Thirty subjects with moderate or severe TBI were compared to 30 normal controls on the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R), a dimensional measure of borderline traits, the Go-no go inhibition task, the Complexity of Representations of People and Affect-Tone Relationships Paradigms, two scales from the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS) evaluating the quality of object relations, an estimation of pre-morbid borderline severity, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and various neuropsychological measures. Results indicate that TBIs present more borderline symptoms and traits than controls. However, the severity of borderline symptomatology remains comparatively low for the vast majority. As expected, the TBI group showed a poorer performance on the Go-no go task, a characteristic neuropsychological inhibition deficit. Yet, both samples present similar profiles on the SCORS. Finally, the DIB-R was correlated with the Affect-Tone scale, the BDI and with the pre-morbid severity estimation. Results suggest that post-TBI borderline traits remain rare and relate more to the affective quality of object relations, negative affects and pre-morbid borderline pathology than inhibition deficits.