Table 3.
Studies on genetic and neurobiological factors.
| Study | Study Design | Sample | Trial Duration | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torgersen et al., 2000 [112] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 92 monozygotic and 129 dizygotic twin pairs | - | PDs more strongly influenced by genetic effects than almost any axis I disorder and more than most broad personality dimensions (BPD heritability of 0.69) |
| Torgersen et al., 2008 [115] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 1386 Norwegian twin pairs between the age of 19 and 35 years | - | Heritability of PD traits: ASPD 38%, HPD 31%, NPD 24%, BPD 35% |
| Kendler et al., 2008 [116] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 2794 young-adult members of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Twin Panel | - | Genetic risk factors → broad vulnerability to PD pathology and/or negative emotionality; environmental experiences → tendency of cluster A, B and C PDs to co-occur. |
| Bornovalova et al., 2009 [117] | Longitudinal study; community population | A large sample of adolescent female twins (aged 14–24) taking part in the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS) | 10 years | Both the stability and change of BPD traits are highly influenced by genetic factors and modestly by nonshared environmental factors. |
| Feldman et al., 2010 [118] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 112 parents (71 mothers and 41 fathers) and their 4–6-month-old infants | - | Mothers with high levels of affectionate contact → ↑oxytocin following mother–infant interaction; fathers with high levels of stimulatory contact → ↑ oxytocin |
| Gunderson et al., 2011 [119] | Cross-sectional study; community and clinical population | A total of 368 probands (132 with BPD, 134 without BPD and 102 with MDD) and 885 siblings and parents of probands | - | Substantial familial aggregation of BPD |
| Torgersen et al., 2012 [113] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 2,794 twins from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Twin Panel | - | Heritability of Cluster B PDs: 0.30 if assessed by interview, 0.40-0.50 if assessed by self-report questionnaire (0.67 for BPD) |
| Veer et al., 2012 [120] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 20 healthy male participants | - | Endogenous cortisol levels may modulate amygdala functional connectivity with specific regions in the medial PFC, even under relatively stress-free circumstances |
| Perroud et al., 2013 [121] | Cross-sectional study; community and clinical population | 115 subjects with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and 52 controls | - | BPD subjects → ↑ methylation status in BDNF gene; after I-DBT ↓ methylation status in responders (→ changes in depression, hopelessness and impulsivity scores), ↑ in non-responders |
| Reichborn-Kjennerud et al., 2015 [114] | Longitudinal study; community population | 2282 Norwegian twins in early adulthood | 10 years | Genetic risk factors → ASPD and BPD trait stability from early to middle adulthood; transient environmental risk factors → phenotypic change. |
| Prados et al., 2015 [122] | Cross-sectional study; clinical population | 96 BPD subjects suffering from a high level of child adversity and 93 subjects suffering from MDD and reporting a low rate of child maltreatment | - | Several genes differently methylated, either in BPD compared with MDD or in relation to the severity of childhood maltreatment |
| Martín-Blanco et al., 2016 [123] | Cross-sectional study; community and clinical population | 481 subjects with BPD and 442 controls | - | Several HPA axis genetic variants in BPD subjects with sexual and physical abuse |
| Witt et al., 2017 [124] | Cross-sectional study; community and clinical population | 998 BPD patients and 1545 controls | - | BPD overlaps with BD, MDD and schizophrenia on the genetic level |
| Iorio et al., 2017 [125] | Cross-sectional study; community population | 308 college-attending, non-Hispanic European-Americans who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study | - | Polygenic variation linked to HPA axis function → risk for anxiety symptomatology |
| Pratt et al., 2017 [126] | Cross-sectional study; community and clinical population | 97 mothers (28 with MDD, 69 HC) with their 6-year-old children | - | Higher adrenocortical synchrony between mother and child → ↑ physiological stress and < adaptive dyadic relational patterns |
BPD, borderline personality disorder; PDs, personality disorders; ASPD, antisocial personality disorder; ND, narcissistic personality disorder; HPD, histrionic personality disorder; MDD, major depressive disorder; HC, healthy controls; CC, clinical controls; PFC, pre-frontal cortex; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; I-DBT, intensive dialectical behavior therapy; HPA, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal.