Classical Conditioning in Borderline Personality Disorder With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Conditioning studies in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) revealed intact acquisition and within-session extinction for patients with low acute dissociation and impaired acquisition for patients with high acute dissociation. In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) delayed short-term extinction as well as reduced discrimination learning was found. Controlling for acute dissociation, with a subgroup analysis of BPD patients with and without comorbid PTSD we aimed to further understand the influence of both disorders on altered conditioning processes. Aversive differential conditioning was assessed in 33 non-medicated female patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for BPD (15 with and 18 without co-occurring PTSD). An aversive sound served as unconditioned stimulus (US), and two neutral pictures as conditioned stimuli (CS+, CS−). Conditioning was assessed by skin conductance responses (SCRs) and ratings of valence and arousal. BPD patients without PTSD revealed a significant differentiation between CS+ and CS− ...