Medial prefrontal cortex hyperactivation during social exclusion in borderline personality disorder

Abstract Frontal systems dysfunction and abandonment fears represent central features of borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD subjects ( n  = 10) and matched non-psychiatric comparison subjects ( n  = 10) completed a social–cognitive task with two confederates instructed to either include or exclude subjects from a circumscribed interaction. Evoked cerebral blood oxygenation in frontal cortex was measured using 16-channel functional near infrared spectroscopy. BPD subjects showed left medial prefrontal cortex hyperactivation during social exclusion suggesting potential dysfunction of frontolimbic circuitry.