Olfactory sulcus morphology in teenagers with first-presentation borderline personality disorder

Abstract

Gray matter reduction of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been reported in borderline personality disorder (BPD), but it remains unknown whether the BPD patients exhibit morphologic changes of the olfactory sulcus, a potential marker of forebrain development located on the OFC. We used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the length and depth of the olfactory sulcus in 20 teenagers (15 females and 5 males) with first-presentation BPD and 20 healthy controls (15 females and 5 males). While there was no group difference in the length of the sulcus, the BPD patients (especially those with a history of trauma) had a significantly shallower right olfactory sulcus compared with controls. In addition, sulcus depth was negatively correlated with the severity of impulsivity and affective instability in the BPD patients. These preliminary findings may suggest a significant role of environmental risk factors (i.e., trauma exposure) during childhood to adolescence in the neurobiology of BPD.