BACKGROUND Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) provides a direct and quantitative assessment of cortical haemodynamic function during a cognitive task. This functional neuroimaging modality may be used to elucidate the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, and identify neurophysiological differences between co-occurring psychiatric disorders. However, fNIRS research on borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been limited. Hence, this study aimed to compare cerebral haemodynamic function in healthy controls (HC), patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and patients with BPD. METHODS fNIRS signals during a verbal fluency task designed for clinical assessment was recorded for all participants. Demographics, clinical history and symptom severity were also noted. FINDINGS Compared to HCs (n = 31), both patient groups (MDD, n = 31; BPD, n = 31) displayed diminished haemodynamic response in the frontal, temporal and parietal cortices. Moreover, haemodynamic response in the right frontal cortex is markedly lower in patients with MDD compared to patients with BPD. INTERPRETATION Normal cortical function in patients with BPD is disrupted, but not as extensively as in patients with MDD. These results provide further neurophysiological evidence for the distinction of patients with MDD from patients with BPD.

中文翻译：

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在严重抑郁和边缘型人格障碍患者的口语流利任务期间，通过功能近红外光谱法测量的皮质血流动力学反应。

背景技术功能性近红外光谱法（fNIRS）在认知任务期间提供了皮层血流动力学功能的直接和定量评估。这种功能性的神经影像学方法可用于阐明精神疾病的病理生理学，并确定同时发生的精神疾病之间的神经生理学差异。但是，fNIRS对边缘性人格障碍（BPD）的研究受到限制。因此，本研究旨在比较健康对照（HC），重度抑郁症（MDD）和BPD患者的脑血流动力学功能。方法为所有参与者记录在口语流利度任务期间为临床评估而设计的fNIRS信号。还记录了人口统计学，临床病史和症状严重程度。结果与HCs（n = 31）相比，两个患者组（MDD，n = 31；BPD，n = 31）显示额叶，颞叶和顶叶皮质的血流动力学反应减弱。此外，与BPD患者相比，MDD患者右额皮质的血流动力学反应明显降低。解释BPD患者的皮质功能正常，但不如MDD患者广泛。这些结果为区分MDD患者和BPD患者提供了进一步的神经生理学证据。