Cognitive Control of Negative Stimuli in BPD

Freie Universität Berlin

Status: Completed

Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder

Treatments: Device: transcranial DC stimulation : sham; Device: transcranial DC stimulation : anodal

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03636139

tDCS_BPD

Details and patient eligibility

About

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by impairments in the cognitive control of negative information. These impairments in cognitive control are presumably due to blunted activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) along with enhanced activations of the limbic system. However, the impact of an excitatory stimulation of the dlPFC still needs to be elucidated. In the present study, we therefore assigned 50 patients with BPD and 50 healthy controls to receive either anodal or sham stimulation of the right dlPFC in a double-blind, randomized, between-subjects design.

Enrollment: 100 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria Borderline Personality Disorder:

• Diagnosis of borderline personality disorder

Exclusion Criteria Borderline Personality Disorder:

• Diagnosis of current or previous bipolar disorder
• Diagnosis of current substance dependency
• Diagnosis of current major depression
• Diagnosis of current or previous neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy)
• Tattoos or scarred skin on the left shoulder or scalp (i.e. F4)

Inclusion Criteria Control Participants:

• No current or previous diagnosis of a mental disorder

Exclusion Criteria Control Participants:

• More than 2 criteria of borderline personality disorder are met
• Diagnosis of current or previous neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy)
• Intake of psychotropic medication
• Tattoos or scarred skin on the left shoulder or scalp (i.e. F4)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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100 participants in 2 patient groups

Anodal stimulation

Experimental group

Description:

transcranial DC stimulation : anodal

Treatment:

Device: transcranial DC stimulation : anodal

Sham stimulation

Sham Comparator group

Description:

transcranial DC stimulation : sham

Treatment:

Device: transcranial DC stimulation : sham