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Negative bias in fast emotion discrimination in borderline personality disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2008

M. Dyck ,
U. Habel ,
J. Slodczyk ,
J. Schlummer ,
V. Backes ,
F. Schneider  and
M. Reske
M. Dyck*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
U. Habel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
J. Slodczyk
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
J. Schlummer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
V. Backes
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
F. Schneider
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
M. Reske
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), CA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: M. Dyck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany. (Email: mdyck@ukaachen.de)
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Abstract

Background

The ability to decode emotional information from facial expressions is crucial for successful social interaction. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by serious problems in interpersonal relationships and emotional functioning. Empirical research on facial emotion recognition in BPD has been sparsely published and results are inconsistent. To specify emotion recognition deficits in BPD more closely, the present study implemented two emotion recognition tasks differing in response format.

Method

Nineteen patients with BPD and 19 healthy subjects were asked to evaluate the emotional content of visually presented stimuli (emotional and neutral faces). The first task, the Fear Anger Neutral (FAN) Test, required a rapid discrimination between negative or neutral facial expressions whereas in the second task, the Emotion Recognition (ER) Test, a precise decision regarding default emotions (sadness, happiness, anger, fear and neutral) had to be achieved without a time limit.

Results

In comparison to healthy subjects, BPD patients showed a deficit in emotion recognition only in the fast discrimination of negative and neutral facial expressions (FAN Test). Consistent with earlier findings, patients demonstrated a negative bias in the evaluation of neutral facial expressions. When processing time was unlimited (ER Test), BPD patients performed as well as healthy subjects in the recognition of specific emotions. In addition, an association between performance in the fast discrimination task (FAN Test) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) co-morbidity was indicated.

Conclusions

Our data suggest a selective deficit of BPD patients in rapid and direct discrimination of negative and neutral emotional expressions that may underlie difficulties in social interactions.

Keywords

Borderline personality disorderemotion discriminationfacial affect recognitionnegative biaspost-traumatic stress disorder
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 39 , Issue 5 , May 2009 , pp. 855 - 864
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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