Decreased GABA in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex of Female Borderline Personality Disorder Patients

Gabriele Ende¹, Markus Sack¹, Nuran Tunc-Skarka¹, Wolfgang Weber-Fahr¹, Mareen Hoerst¹, Anne Krause-Utz², Anne-Christine Reitz², Sylvia Cackowski², Christian Schmahl²

Dysfunction and deficits in the structure of the anterior cingulate cortex as well as increased impulsivity have been reported in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Loss or dysfunction of GABAergic neurotransmission is associated with many neurological and psychiatric conditions. We report first GABA data from the ACC of 20 female BPD patients and 24 female healthy controls from an ongoing study. Two MEGA-PRESS edited spectra were obtained: with and without macromolecule (MM) suppression. Decreased GABA was found in the MM suppressed GABA data concordant with functional deficits observed in BPD patients.