435289
2012
ANP46410.1177/0004867411435289BassettANZJP Articles
Review
Borderline personality disorder and
bipolar affective disorder. Spectra or
spectre? A review
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
46(4) 327–339
DOI: 10.1177/0004867411435289
© The Royal Australian and
New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2012
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Darryl Bassett1,2
Abstract
Objective: Bipolar affective disorder and borderline personality disorder have long been considered to have significant
similarities and comorbidity. This review endeavours to clarify the similarities and differences between these disorders,
with an effort to determine whether they reflect different forms of the same illness or separate illness clusters.
Method: The published literature relating to bipolar affective disorders, borderline personality disorders, and related
areas of knowledge was reviewed using searches of several electronic databases (AMED, CINHAL, Embase, Ovid,
ProQuest, MEDLINE, Web of Science, ScienceDirect) and published texts. These findings were combined with the
personal clinical experience of the author, and information gathered from colleagues, to create a review of this topic.
Results: Bipolar affective disorders and borderline personality disorders differ with respect to sense of self, disruption
of relationships, family history of bipolar disorders, the benefits of medications, the extent of cognitive deficits, the form
of affective dysregulation and mood cycling, the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts, the form of psychotic episodes,
the incidence of early sexual abuse but not early trauma in general, the loss of brain substance, alterations in cortical
activity, glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity, and mitochondrial dysfunction. They are similar with respect to non-specific
features of affective dysregulation, the incidence of atypical depressive features, the incidence of self-mutilation, the incidence of transporter polymorphisms, possible genetic linkages, overall reduction in limbic modulation, reduction in the
size of hippocampi and amygdala, and the incidence of sleep disruption.
Conclusions: This review concludes that bipolar affective disorders and borderline personality disorder are separate
disorders, but have significant elements in common.
Keywords
Atypical depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, bipolar spectrum, borderline personality disorder, cyclothymia
Fundamentals
The relationship between borderline personality disorder
and bipolar affective disorder has been a topic of debate
since at least 1979 (Boyce and Wilson, 2011; Siever and
Gunderson, 1979; Stone, 1979). The presumed associations
have been multiplied by increasing interest in patients
who suffer less severe forms of mania but still suffer significant affective instability (the bipolar spectrum disorders) (Benazzi, 2009; Howland and Thase, 1993; Kwapil
et al., 2011; Perugi et al., 2011; Thomas, 2004; Tiller and
Schweitzer, 2010; Van Meter et al., 2011; Youngstrom
et al., 2010). While such interest has captured recent attention, the concept of bipolar disorder with relatively mild
forms of mania is not a recent development (Baethge et al.,
2003; Brieger and Marneros, 1997; Slater and Roth, 1969).
Our current major diagnostic systems have added to the
confusion with long lists of criteria for each of these diagnostic groups, which permit the inclusion of a wide range
of clinical presentations (Meares et al., 2011a). While bipolar disorder has been recognised as a diagnostic entity for a
very long time (at least since Aretaeus of Cappadocia, circa
AD 150–200) (Adams, 1972; Hornblower and Spawforth,
1School
of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle Australia
of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western
Australia, Nedlands, Australia
2School
Corresponding author:
Darryl Bassett, Suite 25, Hollywood Specialist Centre, 95 Monash
Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
Email: dbassett@iinet.net.au
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
328
1996), borderline personality disorder as currently defined
is a relatively more recent construct (Stern, 1938).
The problem of misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder has
been well recognised and is the subject of considerable
comment (Benazzi, 2000, 2006, 2008; Boyce and Wilson,
2011; Chilakamarri et al., 2011; George et al., 2003; Little
and Richardson, 2010; Paris, 2010; Paris et al., 2007;
Patfield, 2011; Ruggero et al., 2010a, 2010b; Smith et al.,
2004; Tiller and Schweitzer, 2010; Yatham et al., 2009).
One can readily appreciate that, among patients, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder gives a sense of optimism that treatment for their distressing illness is available. Conversely, in
the context of our current service structure, a diagnosis of
borderline personality disorder carries greater stigma and
the implication that treatment may be unavailable (Aviram
et al., 2006). A more biological diagnosis also externalises
the locus of control, which is of appeal to some patients and
therapists.
Nevertheless, bipolar disorder is both frequently overdiagnosed and frequently missed (Hadjipavlou and Yatham,
2009; Leboyer and Kupfer, 2010). Evidence is steadily
accumulating that bipolar disorder is associated with significant risks to brain structure and function, making early
and effective treatment particularly important (Berk et al.,
2009, 2010a, 2010b, 2011; Macneil et al., 2011). On the
other hand, the positive misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder
brings significant potential adverse consequences, including inappropriate medication exposure, insurance complications, employment implications, stigma and a distorted
perception of health status.
The failure to diagnose borderline personality disorder
also has significant potential adverse consequences, as targeted psychotherapy and psychosocial management have
proven efficacy. In the context of several shared elements,
the complex phenomenological differences between the
two disorders will emerge with greater clarity as they are
examined in this paper (Berk et al., 2004).
It would seem helpful to begin by reflecting upon what
might be considered the ‘core’ elements of each group of
disorders. Meares et al. (2011a) used factor analysis to
define four core elements for borderline personality disorder: ‘painful incoherence’ (highly intense emotional pain
reflecting a fragmented sense of self; the most significant
factor); ‘role absorption’ (loss of identity); ‘inconsistency’;
and ‘lack of commitment’ (the least significant factor)
(Meares et al., 2011a). Although other significant features of
borderline personality disorder such as a fear of abandonment, impulsivity, recurrent self-injurious behaviour, affective instability (rapidly fluctuating moods provoked by life
events), episodic explosive rage and episodic psychotic
phenomena were clearly significant, they were not regarded
as ‘core’ features. Previous factor analyses identified disturbed relatedness (identity disturbance, chronic perceptions
of internal emptiness, unstable relationships), behavioural
dysregulation (self-injurious behaviour, impulsivity) and
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
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affective dysregulation (inappropriate anger, efforts to avoid
abandonment, affective instability) as the three prime features of borderline personality disorder (Clifton and
Pilkonis, 2007). Significantly, Clifton and Pilkonis (2007)
established that these latter factors correlated so highly
together that they statistically reflected one comprehensive
construct. It would be helpful to identify that construct in a
clinically meaningful way.
Like Meares et al. (2011a), I suggest that an ‘emotionally
noxious sense of self” (an emotionally painful disruption of
self-identity, a recurring fear of abandonment and chronic
emptiness) is that core entity. Zanarini et al. (2007) argue for
a similar concept, and also suggest that the interaction of
this core element with a ‘kindling’ life event converts this
predisposition into a clinical syndrome. However, Trull et
al. (2011), in their discussion of the proposed diagnostic criteria for DSM-V, maintain that there is no single ‘latent’
group identity for borderline personality disorder and therefore a categorical diagnostic structure is unsatisfactory.
Instead, they argue for a combination of the dimensions of
clinical signs and symptoms derived from factor analyses,
combined with the core features of affective dysregulation,
impulsivity, and interpersonal hypersensitivity. This seems
consistent with the notion of a fundamental core element of
a noxious sense of self.
Young et al. (2003), and Kellogg and Young (2006),
have formulated the core elements of borderline personality
disorder using a schema-based model. They describe these
core schema elements as five modes which reflect the
impact of childhood traumatic experiences: (1) ‘the abandoned and abused child’: fear of isolation and abandonment; (2) ‘the angry and impulsive child’: rage over
perceived abuse, deprivation, rejection, subjugation and
punishment; (3) ‘the detached protector’: emotional withdrawal, disconnection, isolation and behavioural avoidance; (4) ‘the punitive parent’: identification with a
devaluing and rejecting parent; and (5) ‘the healthy adult
mode’: the least common mode which allows the patient to
meet essential needs and to seek containment of the recurring emotional pain. Their formulation is largely consistent
with those described above, although they do not place
emphasis upon self-observation and evaluation. However,
their model has the added value of constructing a framework for a cognitive approach to psychotherapy.
Bipolar disorder would seem to have a very different
nature when the fundamental features of this disorder are
considered. These consist of elements of depressive disorder (dysphoric mood, anhedonia, psychomotor disorder)
and elements of mania (unusually and significantly
increased energy evident in several forms, impaired judgement with disinhibition, unusually elevated or irritable
mood), with subjective experiences linked to these elements (emotional emptiness, irrational guilt, suicidal
thoughts, grandiose thoughts, elevated or depressed mood,
increased creativity or impaired cognitive function, and a
329
Bassett
number of other features) (Hosokawa et al., 2009; Parker,
2000, 2009; Parker et al., 2006). Importantly, disruption of
a sense of self and an incapacity to maintain mutually satisfying relationships with others are not core features of
bipolar disorder. As a consequence, the approach to effective psychotherapy for bipolar disorder is different to that
for borderline personality disorder (Basco and Rush, 2005;
Goodwin and Jamison, 2007d; Kellogg and Young, 2006;
Linehan, 1993).
Matters of difference
Mania and hypomania in various ways define bipolarity,
but some uncertainty arises when the milder forms of
mania, such as those seen in cyclothymia, are considered
(Akiskal and Benazzi, 2006; Alloy et al., 2011; Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 2000;
Goodwin and Jamison, 2007e; International Classification
of Mental and Behaviour Disorders, 1994; Phelps, 2009;
Smith et al., 2005).
Perugi et al. (2011) report evidence of cyclothymic temperament in patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and atypical major depressive
disorder, although their criteria for cyclothymia were not
clearly defined (Perugi et al., 2011). Further, they did not
separate cyclothymia as a syndrome from cyclothymic temperament as an element of personality. Ghaemi et al. (2004)
maintain that cyclical patterns of mood shifts are a common
element of bipolar disorder, recurrent major depressive disorder and atypical major depressive disorder, but that atypical depressive features and early onset are more common
in bipolar disorder. The absence of mania in major depressive disorder and atypical major depressive disorder would
seem critically important, despite the cyclical nature of
their symptom profiles. As noted previously, a family history of major mood disorders helps to reinforce the diagnosis of a bipolar disorder (Galione and Zimmerman, 2010;
Ghaemi et al., 2004; Mitchell et al., 2008; Souery et al.,
2012), and the life trajectories of disabling symptoms of
bipolar disorder tend to be more prolonged than with borderline personality disorder (Paris, 2004; Paris et al., 2007).
However, both disorders are associated with a significant
incidence of childhood trauma (approximately 50% in
bipolar disorder and 60–80% in borderline personality disorder) (Alvarez et al., 2011; Ball and Links, 2009; Conus
et al., 2010; Etain et al., 2008; Fowke et al., 2011; Garno
et al., 2005; Herman et al., 1989; Hyun et al., 2000), and
early life trauma may play an aetiological role in both
(Holmes, 2003; Joyce et al., 2003; Watson et al., 2006).
Patients with bipolar disorders and borderline personality
disorders may differ in the form of childhood trauma, or
their vulnerability to such trauma, but the possible
details of such differences remain uncertain.
Mackinnon and Pies (2006) offer support for the notion
that rapid cycling of mood states is a common element of
both bipolar and borderline states. The suggestion has some
clinical support but appears inconsistent with the nonaffective components, as well as the details of affective
disruptions discussed later, observed in both disorders.
Self-mutilation has been observed with similar frequency in both bipolar disorder, particularly mixed states
(Joyce et al., 2010), and borderline personality disorder.
Therefore, such self-injury does not distinguish these disorders diagnostically. The separation of bipolar disorder and
borderline personality disorder must then be achieved with
criteria other than the presence of affective dysregulation
and cyclicity of symptoms and signs alone. Importantly,
however, the time course of the cyclicity is helpful: the
presence of discrete, prolonged periods of affective symptoms, as opposed to rapidly shifting states, does suggest a
bipolar diagnosis.
Differences have also been identified in thinking styles
between bipolar and borderline patients, with implications for their emotional health and relationship quality.
Wupperman et al. (2009) identified significant deficiencies
in mindfulness (attention, awareness and acceptance of the
moment) in patients with borderline personality disorder.
These included reduced interpersonal effectiveness, as well
as passive and impulsive emotion regulation, even when
they controlled for neuroticism. Nilsson et al. (2010), using
the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and
San Diego Autoquestionnaire, and the Young Schema
Questionnaire, found that bipolar patients exhibited a
higher level of maladaptive schemas and affective temperaments compared with controls. In contrast, borderline
patients exhibited a higher level of cyclothymic temperament and reduced self-control.
Quantitative clinical studies
There have been numerous attempts to quantify the similarities and differences between bipolar disorder and borderline
personality disorder, as well as their comorbidity (Paris et al.,
2007). Perugi et al. (2011) studied a population of patients
diagnosed with atypical major depressive disorder, 32% of
whom they subsequently found could be diagnosed with
bipolar disorder (24% without antidepressant-induced bipolarity and increased to 78% if hyperthymia or cyclothymic
temperaments were considered indicative of bipolarity).
When these atypically depressed patients were divided into
those who also suffered from borderline personality disorder
(42%), the only significant differences in demographic and a
range of clinical features were shorter durations of the current illness and a higher rate of suicide attempts. The presence of bipolar features, however, defined in their study, did
not identify comorbid borderline personality disorder in
these atypical major depressive disorder patients.
Galione and Zimmerman (2010) examined the clinical
features of patients suffering depressive disorders (unipolar
and bipolar), both with and without comorbid borderline
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
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Table 1. Significant differences between borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder.
Borderline personality disorder
Bipolar disorder
Altered sense of self
No altered sense of self
Relationships severely disrupted
Relationships not as severely disrupted
No family history of bipolar disorder
Family history of bipolar disorder
Increased glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity
Reduced glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity
Mood stabilizers modestly effective
Mood stabilizers very effective
Atypical antipsychotics modestly effective
Atypical antipsychotics very effective
Cognitive deficits less severe
Cognitive deficits more severe
Affective dysregulation between anger and depression
prominent
Affective dysregulation between euphoria and depression
prominent
Higher incidence of suicide attempts
Higher incidence of completed suicide
Very rapid mood cycling
Less rapid mood cycling
Early sexual abuse prominent
Early sexual abuse not prominent
Limited loss of gray matter
More loss of gray matter
Limited loss of white matter
More loss of white matter
Alterations of insula activity
Uncertain changes in insula activity
No changes in dorsolateral or dorsomedial prefrontal
cortices
Reduced activity of dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal
cortices
No changes in cuneus and lingual
Reduced activity of cuneus and lingual gyri
No mitochondrial dysfunction
Mitochondrial dysfunction
Psychosis – non-specific features and sometimes persistent
long-term
Psychosis – most often linked to affective state and not
persistent long-term
personality disorder. They found the following differences
when depressive disorders were comorbid with borderline
personality disorder: earlier age of onset of depressive
symptoms, greater frequency of depressive episodes, greater
frequency of ‘atypical’ depressive symptoms, higher prevalence of comorbid anxiety disorders and substance abuse,
and a greater number of suicide attempts. They also found
that a history of bipolar disorder in first-degree relatives was
not significantly associated with the presence of borderline
personality disorder. They concluded that overall their data
did not support the inclusion of borderline personality disorder as a component of the bipolar spectrum.
On the other hand, it is interesting that Mitchell et al.
(2008) found that the probability of a depressive disorder
being part of a bipolar disorder was increased by the presence of features of atypical major depressive disorder, an
earlier age of onset of first depressive episode, a history of
multiple and shorter depressive episodes, and/or a family
history of bipolar disorder. While there is overlap in their
findings with the probability of borderline personality
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
disorder being present, the family history of bipolar disorder is again a prominent distinguishing feature.
Paris et al. (2007), in their review of the bipolar disorder/borderline personality disorder interface, also concluded that bipolar disorder and borderline personality
disorder were most likely separate disorders. Specifically,
they found that while episodes of mania in bipolar disorder
contrasted with more affective instability in borderline personality disorder, there was a significantly higher frequency
of bipolar disorder in first-degree relatives of bipolar disorder patients, the benefits of mood stabilizers were more
predictable in bipolar disorder than borderline personality
disorder, and the prognosis for borderline personality disorder was generally better than for bipolar disorder. They also
reviewed the relative incidence of borderline personality
disorder and bipolar disorder comorbidity in several studies
(Paris et al., 2007). They record that after combining the
data, the median incidence of bipolar disorder-I in patients
with borderline personality disorder was 9%. Similarly, the
median incidence of bipolar disorder-II in patients with
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Bassett
Table 2. Similarities between borderline personality disorder
and bipolar disorder.
Affective dysregulation – non-specific
Atypical depressive features more common than in major
depressive disorder
Self-mutilation common
High heritability
Transporter polymorphisms relevant
Possible genetic linkage
Fronto-limbic dysregulation: reduced modulation of limbic
activity
Reduced hippocampal size
Increased activity of the amygdale
Reduced size of the corpus callosum
Low comorbidity between bipolar disorder and borderline
personality disorder
Early life trauma significant
Some common sleep disruption
Psychotic symptoms may arise
borderline personality disorder was 11%. Cyclothymia was
identified in 22% of patients with borderline personality
disorder, but only one study was cited (Levitt et al., 1990).
Conversely, borderline personality disorder was identified
in 11% of patients with bipolar disorder-I and 16% of those
with bipolar disorder-II. Perugi et al. (2003) found borderline personality disorder in 62% of patients with atypical
major depressive disorder and cyclothymic temperament.
These low rates of overlap argue in favour of the disorders
being discrete entities.
Henry et al. (2001) found that while affective instability was evident in both bipolar disorder and borderline
personality disorder, there were important differences.
Significantly, the instability seen in bipolar disorder was
more often between euthymia and depression, euthymia
and elation, or depression and elation. In contrast, the lability seen in borderline personality disorder was more often
between euthymia and anger. Indeed, there is an increasing
consensus that the high ranking of irritability in the DSM-IV
criteria for bipolar disorder is a problem, and this is likely
to be amended in the DSM-V system (Ghaemi et al., 2008).
Benazzi (2006), using a measure of personality factors,
found borderline personality traits were significantly more
common in bipolar disorder-II than in major depressive disorder. However, while the ‘affective instability’ factor did
not separate bipolar disorder and borderline personality
disorder, the ‘impulsivity’ factor was significantly more
common in borderline personality disorder compared with
bipolar disorder. Other personality disorders were also
identified in patients with bipolar disorder, with histrionic
personality disorder being the most common co-morbid
subtype.
Yen et al. (2002) found that in women with borderline
personality disorder, the level of affect intensity and affect
control were significantly associated with the number of
borderline traits. Both affect intensity (raised) and affect
control (reduced) remained significant in association, even
when controlled for depression. Affect control remained
significant, even when controlled for affect intensity.
Reich et al. (2011) found several significant differences in
affective lability between bipolar and borderline disorders.
Bipolar patients exhibited higher scores on the EuthymiaElation subscale of the Affective Lability Scale (ALS), as
well as higher total scores using the Affect Intensity Measure.
The latter scale also revealed higher Positive Emotion subscale scores in this group. In contrast, borderline personality
disorder patients scored more highly on the AnxietyDepression subscale of the ALS. They also found that, using
the Affective Lability Interview for Borderline Personality
Disorder Scale, borderline patients exhibited more frequent
shifts between euthymia and anxiety, anger and depression,
as well as depression and anxiety.
Becerra is currently conducting the first known study
measuring emotional dysregulation using the Difficulties
with Emotion Regulation Scale in patients with bipolar
disorder. His preliminary data reveal a current mean score
of 90 (maximum possible = 180) (Becerra R, 2011, unpublished data). This can be compared to a mean score of
126 in patients with borderline personality disorder (Gratz
et al., 2006) and a mean of 80 in college students (Gratz and
Roemer, 2004). While sufficient data is not yet available
to permit a statistical analysis, the trend is toward a difference in scores between bipolar and borderline patients.
Altamura et al. (2011) reported lower rates of comorbidity of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder
than, for example, of panic disorder, substance abuse and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Similarly, comorbidity of both disorders has been identified with atypical
major depressive disorder and major depressive disorder. A
family history of bipolar disorder tends to be more prominent in patients with bipolar disorder than borderline personality disorder. While affective dysregulation can be
identified in both disorders, there appear to be qualitative as
well as quantitative differences. Finally, similar forms of
cognitive deficits can be identified in both disorders, but
the severity tends to be greater in bipolar disorder.
Subtypes of bipolar disorder
The current DSM-IV and ICD-10 descriptions of criteria
for bipolar disorder-I, bipolar disorder-II, and cyclothymia
(with the added variants of mixed affective episodes, rapid
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
332
cycling, psychotic affective symptoms and schizoaffective
disorder), contain essentially the same criteria for manic
and depressed episodes, separated only by severity and
duration of episodes. This is a clumsy and largely meaningless exercise, in which arbitrary criteria of duration are
cited and severity remains a subjective evaluation by the
observer. Only the variants of mixed affective episodes,
rapid cycling and affective psychosis can be said to have
further objectivity, and even then the frequency of episodes
to identify ‘rapid cycling’ is itself arbitrary. Indeed, the
decision to admit to a hospital, with all its significant
non-clinical variables, is regarded by many as an inappropriate criterion for separating bipolar disorder-I from bipolar disorder-II (Akiskal and Benazzi, 2006). The presence
of affective psychosis is not even given its own separate
subtype in current classifications, although clinically these
bipolar disorder-I patients suffer from a particularly
destructive illness and there may be significant differences
in the nature of this form of bipolar disorder.
Cyclothymia is a useful, valid, but heterogeneous clinical
entity (Akiskal and Benazzi, 2006; Akiskal et al., 2000;
Howland and Thase, 1993). While cyclothymia can be considered a personality trait or temperament, it can also be
defined as a form of bipolar disorder (DSM-IV and ICD10). It is usefully considered as a disorder which includes a
range of bipolar signs and symptoms (Phelps, 2009), but the
manic features are of a severity which is only spontaneously
evident to ‘significant others’ (such as family or friends),
and often evident to the patient only through reflection.
While many observers may notice various emotional, cognitive and behavioural features consistent with bipolar disorders, they will frequently consider these to be personality
traits, and not recognise their significantly disabling quality.
This may rely on a less than precise definition of ‘significant
others’, but it carries at least some objectivity.
Patients rarely present with well-manicured illness syndromes and the interplay of significant bipolar features and
numerous other disorders is considerable. In clinical practice, cyclothymia is diagnosed largely by historical review,
collateral information from family and friends, current
observation and self-report. Many patients suffering from
cyclothymia are not spontaneously aware that their experience of pressured thoughts, fluctuating moods, bursts of
expansive thinking, periods of heightened libido and significant fluctuations in sleeping habits, for example, are
components of an illness. Yet these patients are usually well
aware of the adverse consequences of their disorder, and
are often perplexed by their own behaviour and internal
experiences.
The intrusion of personality disorders (defined by the
persistence of major disruption of the experience of
self and interpersonal relationships), and a variety of other
psychological disorders (such as anxiety disorders, eating
disorders, attention deficit disorders and substance abuse),
only obfuscate our understanding of bipolarity if included
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
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under the umbrella of bipolar spectrum disorders. It is
more parsimonious to consider these as comorbid disorders, rather than forme frustes of bipolar disorders.
Neuropsychological studies
Neuropsychological studies have revealed deficits in cognitive function in both borderline personality disorder and
euthymic bipolar disorder. The most prominent common
features are defects in verbal learning and memory, and
subtle impairment of executive functions have also been
identified in both borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder (Kurtz and Gerraty, 2009; Ruocco, 2005).
However, Mann-Wrobel et al. (2011) report that the cognitive changes in bipolar disorder tend to be ‘generalized’
(evident in more brain regions) and potentially involve any
cognitive functions. The precise deficits are modified by
numerous illness and age-related factors. Only ‘crystallized’ verbal functions appeared relatively spared in their
analysis. The severity of deficits from all of these studies
tends to be greater in bipolar disorders and less generalized
in borderline personality disorder (Kurtz and Gerraty, 2009;
Ruocco, 2005).
Genetics
In 2000, Torgersen et al. (2000) reported a twin study of
personality disorders, in which borderline personality disorder was revealed to be associated with a level of heritability of 0.7 (or 70%), consistent with measures of heritability
in other personality disorders in that study. However, in
2008, he and his colleagues (Torgersen et al., 2008) reported
a study of cluster B personality disorders, revealing a measure of heritability for borderline personality disorder traits
of 0.35 (35%). Heritability in borderline personality disorder has been variously found in a number of studies to be
between 0.35 and 0.8 (Torgersen et al., 2000, 2008).
Kendler et al. (2011) also found significantly heritable personality traits in a large genetic study of personality disorders in general. Heritability in bipolar disorder has been
estimated to be between 0.68 and 0.80 (Goodwin and
Jamison, 2007a).
Familial coaggregation of borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder has been identified, but similar
coaggregation has been identified with other mood disorders (major depressive disorder and atypical major depressive disorder) as well as anxiety disorders, somatoform
disorders and substance abuse (Zanarini et al., 2009). More
rigorous measures of genetic linkage between bipolar disorders and borderline personality disorder have not yet
been employed. The serotonin transporter gene ‘short’ polymorphism has been found to be significantly associated
with both borderline personality disorder (Maurex et al.,
2010; Wagner et al., 2009) and bipolar disorder (Daray
Bassett
et al., 2010; Levinson, 2006), but the associations are not
strong. Joyce et al. (2006) found a significant association
between the 9-repeat allele of the DAT1 dopamine transporter gene and borderline personality disorder. This
association persisted when relevant developmental factors
(childhood abuse or neglect, borderline temperament)
were controlled. The association was larger in older
patients, suggesting a possibly greater significance in
‘poorer prognosis’ patients. Nemoda et al. (2010) present
similar evidence of an association between dopamine transporter polymorphisms and borderline personality disorder.
However, dopamine transporter polymorphisms appear significant in bipolar disorders as well (Pinsonneault et al.,
2011). The similarities and differences remain uncertain.
Neurobiology
While reduced suppression of corticotrophic releasing
hormone production by dexamethasone (using the
Dexamethasone Suppression Test) has been well observed
in depressive disorders (unipolar and bipolar), increased
suppression has been observed in borderline personality
disorder (Carrasco et al., 2007; Goodman et al., 2010;
Zimmerman and Choi-Kain, 2009). Post-traumatic stress
disorder has also been associated with increased suppression, but the presence or absence of this disorder did not
alter the findings in these studies. There may be a similar
reduction in blunting of the suppression of thyrotropinreleasing hormone (thyroliberin) production by thyroxine
in borderline personality disorder (Carrasco et al., 2007).
Decreased serotonergic responsivity and increased
cholinergic responsivity have been observed in borderline
personality disorder and major depressive disorder, with
suggestions that a similar pattern may be the case in bipolar
disorder (Goodman et al., 2010).
Sleep architecture in borderline personality disorder is
associated with a longer duration of rapid eye movement
sleep, less slow-wave sleep and more stage 2 sleep than in
major depressive disorder or healthy controls (De La Fuente
et al., 2001, 2004). Similar disruptions of sleep architecture
have been observed in bipolar disorder (Goodwin
and Jamison, 2007e; Srinivasan et al., 2009), but more
detailed research is required to clarify the similarities
and differences which may be present in these two groups
of disorders.
Hallahan et al. (2011) performed a very thorough megaanalysis of morphometric MRI studies in bipolar disorder
and found evidence of increases in the volumes of the right
lateral ventricle, left temporal lobe and right putamen,
while a reduced size of right and left amygdalae and hippocampi have been observed in borderline personality disorder (Nunes et al., 2009). Previous studies in bipolar
disorders found inconsistent evidence of changes in the
volumes of the third ventricle, subgenual prefrontal cortex,
hippocampal/amygdala complex, thalamus and caudate
333
(Mcdonald et al., 2004). There is some evidence that adolescent females with borderline personality disorder may
have reductions in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal gray matter, but the separation from healthy adolescent subjects is uncertain (Brunner et al., 2010).
Disruption of white matter integrity has been the subject
of attention, with abnormalities detected in the internal
capsules and adjacent areas of the striatum, thalamus and
frontal white matter in bipolar spectrum disorders (Haznedar
et al., 2005). Benedetti et al. (2011) found structural white
matter injury in the pathways between the amygdala and a
variety of regions, including the cingulate gyri (subgenual,
anterior and posterior), the parahippocampal gyri, the orbitofrontal cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, in
patients with bipolar disorder. Of further interest, disruption
of white matter integrity has been detected in the internal
capsules and left temporal regions of unaffected first-degree
relatives of patients with bipolar disorder (Sprooten et al.,
2011). Altered white matter integrity in the inferior frontal
lobes has also been described in females with borderline
personality disorder and a history of self-injury (Grant
et al., 2007). The significance and consistency of white
matter changes are uncertain and await further clarification
in both bipolar and borderline personality disorders.
Bandelow et al. (2010) suggest that many features
of borderline personality disorder could potentially be
explained as consequences of endogenous opioid dysfunction. These features include attention-seeking behaviours,
over-activation of reward pathways with fear of abandonment, anhedonia and subjective emptiness as consequences
of endogenous opioid deprivation and self-injury as an
attempt to activate endogenous opioid function. They
argue that the benefits of opioid receptor antagonists for
self-injurious behaviour is supportive of their hypothesis.
Unfortunately, the supportive evidence appears scant and
confirmation of their hypothesis is lacking at this time.
Vollm et al. (2004) found that, using a Go/No Go task in
borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality
disorder patients, metabolic activation measured by
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was distributed across the medial, superior and inferior frontal gyri
extending to the anterior cingulate. This contrasted with
healthy controls whose activation was mainly limited to
the prefrontal cortex. Schulze et al. (2011) used fMRI to
examine differences in metabolic activity associated with
emotional reactivity in female patients with borderline personality disorder and healthy controls during a delayed
reappraisal paradigm using aversive pictures and cognitive
reappraisal strategies. They found that borderline personality disorder patients exhibited enhanced emotional reactivity as well as deficits in voluntarily reducing aversive
emotions by cognitive reappraisal.
Reviews by Mauchnik and Schmahl (2010) for borderline personality disorder, and Kupferschmidt and Zakzanis
(2011), as well as Chen et al. (2011) for bipolar disorders,
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
334
examined the neuroimaging research for both of these
disorders. They note reports of reduced hippocampal and
corpus callosum size in both borderline and bipolar
patients, increased size of the amygdala in borderline
patients, but inconsistent reports of alteration in the size of
the amygdala in bipolar patients. In addition, they report
reduced size of gray matter in the rostral and ventral
regions of the anterior cingulate gyri in borderline patients,
but no consistent reports of change in the anterior cingulate size of bipolar patients. Amygdala activity (measured
by fMRI or Positron Emission Tomography scans) was
reported to be increased in both borderline and bipolar
patients, while hippocampal activity has been variously
altered in bipolar patients. Activity of the anterior cingulate gyri and insular cortices were reportedly increased in
borderline patients, but the reports of altered activity in
these regions in bipolar patients have not been consistent.
The reported failure of the activity of the insular cortices to
increase when under emotional stress in borderline patients
is of interest given their difficulty regulating emotional
responses to such challenges. Bipolar patients have been
reported to show reduced activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, the
orbitofrontal cortices, the inferior frontal cortices and in
the cuneus as well as lingual gyri. These changes in activity are of interest, given the evidence of fronto-limbic dysregulation and dorsoventral dysregulation in bipolar
patients. The precise nature of morphological and metabolic changes in the brains of patients with bipolar and
borderline personality disorders remains clouded by clinical heterogeneity, variations in technical assessment and
the complexity of the neurobiology in these disorders.
The physiological response to facially expressed emotion, as measured by cerebral blood flow, has been studied
in both bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.
The findings reveal complex variations related to the nature
of the expressed emotion, but possible differences between
bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder were
difficult to define (Minzenberg et al., 2007; Wessa and
Linke, 2009).
Meares et al. (2011b) report neurophysiological evidence of reduced inhibitory activity in the right hemisphere
from fronto-medial structures in borderline personality disorder. However, similar defects in evoked potentials have
been observed in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and
may represent a marker of a broad neurophysiological
dysfunction (Bestelmeyer et al., 2009). Indeed, one of the
difficulties of biological markers in general is their broad
failure to respect our current diagnostic systems. This is
not really a surprise, since in no other branch of medicine
does phenomenology accurately reflect pathophysiology.
Importantly, however, all of these studies have provided
further evidence of fronto-limbic dysregulation in both
bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, compared with healthy controls.
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(4)
ANZJP Articles
The finding that the sensitivity of glucocorticoid receptors is reduced in bipolar disorder and increased in borderline personality disorder is of considerable interest, as it
suggests a major separation in the neuroendocrine response
to stress (Goodwin and Jamison, 2007c; Zimmerman and
Choi-Kain, 2009). There is also some evidence that there
may be reduced responsivity in serotonergic and acetylcholinergic circuits in both disorders. Altered function of
endogenous opioid systems is a tempting hypothesis for
some features of borderline personality disorder but is
poorly supported. Dysregulation of neural circuits in the
prefrontal regions, with disruption of some executive cognitive functions and reduced modulation by fronto-limbic
pathways, appears supported in borderline personality disorder and in bipolar disorder (Berdahl, 2010). The differences in both structural and functional activity of neural
circuits in both disorders remain uncertain, but exhibit
similarities to changes in mental state and interpersonal
functions.
Andreazza et al. (2010) and Berk et al. (2011) note the
significance of mitochondrial dysfunction in bipolar disorders, with likely relevance to the disruption of energy
evident in the clinical states of these disorders. There
are no reports of mitochondrial dysfunction in borderline
personality disorders.
Pharmacology
It is evident that antidepressants, anticonvulsant-mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotic medications have value
in the management of both bipolar disorder and borderline
personality disorder. However, the benefits in bipolar disorder appear significantly more prominent than in borderline
personality disorder, and their use in the latter remains limited (Ripoll et al., 2011). Given the broad utility of antidepressants, antipsychotics and anticonvulsants across a wide
range of disorders, treatment response does not appear to
have diagnostic implications. The only exception appears
to be lithium, which does not show efficacy in non-affective psychoses nor display clear utility in personality disorders (Bellino et al., 2008).
Clinical observations
Clinical observation and documentation by many clinicians
suggest that borderline personality disorder is associated
with an emotionally painful disruption of the sense of self,
as well as rapidly changing affective instability, high impulsivity and a pattern of severely unsatisfactory interpersonal
relationships (Meares et al., 2011a, 2011b; Paris et al.,
2007). Bipolar disorder is much less commonly associated
with such disruption of self-experience, and is less often
associated with high impulsivity and repeatedly unsatisfactory relationships. Patients with bipolar disorder are more
often observed to have a positive family history of bipolar
335
Bassett
disorder, and their experience of affective instability is
characterised by less rapid changes and less reactivity to
environmental events than patients with borderline personality disorder.
Psychosis can arise in both bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. The form of psychosis in bipolar
disorder is most frequently mood congruent, but mood
incongruent psychotic phenomena can arise. The psychotic
episodes are almost always limited in duration and rarely
extend beyond several months (Goodwin and Jamison,
2007b). The content of the psychotic episodes is usually
dominated by delusional thinking, but a variety of perceptual disorders are common and severe disorganisation
(delirious mania and catatonia) may develop (Goodwin and
Jamison, 2007b). Psychotic phenomena in borderline personality disorder are less consistent in content, may be
linked to early life trauma, and may persist for many years.
However, severe psychotic disorganization is rare and usually very brief (mainly hours) (Adams and Sanders, 2011;
Barnow et al., 2010).
Acute psychiatric illness of many forms can test
underlying personality structures, and the temporary
emergence of behaviours suggestive of underlying
personality disorder is common. During episodes of
acute illness, patients with bipolar disorder (particularly
mixed states) sometimes exhibit prominent affective
instability, high impulsivity, self-injury, manipulative
interpersonal behaviour and explosive rage. This
may lead to an incorrect diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Tiller has named this phenomenon
‘state borderline’ (Tiller J, 2002, personal communication). Longitudinal observation of the patient through
historical assessment and personal observation by therapists is vitally important for accurate diagnosis. These
observations chime with experience.
Conclusions
While bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder
have many clinical and biological features in common, the
evidence suggests that they remain essentially distinct entities which may occur together or separately (see Tables 1
and 2). They share some elements of psychopathology and
pathophysiology, but their differences are more significant.
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to several colleagues, who have given very generously of their time and expertise to critically comment upon the
preparation of this paper. Professors Michael Berk and Sean Hood
have been of considerable assistance. My good friends Drs Robert
Segal and Nick de Felice have also provided invaluable comment.
Dr Sherylee Bassett has given expert advice, assisted generously
with literature searches, provided professional editing and tireless
devotion to the quality of presentation. Their contributions are
gratefully acknowledged.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency
in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are
responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
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