Cited by 49Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesPersonality Disorders and PsychopathologyNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Self-injuring adolescent girls exhibit insular cortex volumetric abnormalities that are similar to those seen in adults with borderline personality disorder

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Beauchaine, Theodore P., Sauder, Colin L., Derbidge, Christina M., Uyeji, Lauren L.·2019·Development and Psychopathology

Abstract

Self-inflicted injury (SII) in adolescence is a serious public health concern that portends prospective vulnerability to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, borderline personality development, suicide attempts, and suicide. To date, however, our understanding of neurobiological vulnerabilities to SII is limited. Behaviorally, affect dysregulation is common among those who self-injure. This suggests ineffective cortical modulation of emotion, as observed among adults with borderline personality disorder. In borderline samples, structural and functional abnormalities are observed in several frontal regions that subserve emotion regulation (e.g., anterior cingulate, insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). However, no volumetric analyses of cortical brain regions have been conducted among self-injuring adolescents. We used voxel-based morphometry to compare cortical gray matter volumes between self-injuring adolescent girls, ages 13-19 years (n = 20), and controls (n = 20). Whole-brain analyses revealed reduced gray matter volumes among self-injurers in the insular cortex bilaterally, and in the right inferior frontal gyrus, an adjacent neural structure also implicated in emotion and self-regulation. Insular and inferior frontal gyrus gray matter volumes correlated inversely with self-reported emotion dysregulation, over-and-above effects of psychopathology. Findings are consistent with an emotion dysregulation construal of SII, and indicate structural abnormalities in some but not all cortical brain regions implicated in borderline personality disorder among adults.

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  • Compared with healthy controls, self-injurers show reduced insula gray matter volume, but this is not substantiated in BPD youth reporting parasuicidal behaviors.

    “In comparison to healthy controls, self-injurers show reduced insula GMV (62, 64), but this is not substantiated in BPD youth reporting parasuicidal behaviors (65).”
  • One study reports reduced right inferior frontal gyrus gray matter volume in NSSI adolescents compared to non-depressed individuals.

    “One study reports reduced GMV in the right IFG among NSSI adolescents compared to non-depressed individuals (62).”
  • Youth STB research is characterized by alterations within prefrontal and limbic systems, where a compromised regulatory system may potentiate suicidal thinking, and perturbations in top-down and bottom-up connections may lead to suicidal behaviors.

    “Consistent with Schmaal and colleagues (32), youth STB research is characterized by alterations within prefrontal (53–55) and limbic (62, 75, 102, 103) systems whereby a compromised regulatory system may potentiate suicidal thinking, and perturbations in top-down and bottom-up connections may lead to suicidal behaviors.”

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  1. First MB Gibbon M Spitzer RL Williams JB Benjamin LS 1997 User’s guide for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II personality disorders Washington DC American Psychiatric Press

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Authors
Beauchaine, T. P., Sauder, C. L., Derbidge, C. M., & Uyeji, L. L.
Affiliations
  • The Ohio State University (US)
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
  • University of Utah (US)
  • Temple University (US)
Corresponding author
Beauchaine, Theodore P.
Venue
Development and Psychopathology
Published
2018-11-05
Volume
31
Issue
04
Pages
1203-1212
ISSN
  • 0954-5794 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-2198
OpenAlex
W2899698906
Cited by
49
References
104
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4
FWCI
4.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Development and Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH086198)
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (UH2DE025980)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
self-harm, adolescent girls, insula, gray matter volume, inferior frontal gyrus, emotional dysregulation, borderline personality disorder, affective self-regulation, suicide risk
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Borderline Personality Disorder, Brain, Cerebral Cortex, Emotions, Female, Frontal Lobe, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Organ Size, Personality Development, Prospective Studies, Self-Injurious Behavior, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult, Gray Matter

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