Etiological Theories of Borderline Personality Disorder: from neurobiology to epigenetics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i3.12929Keywords:
Etiology; Borderline Personality Disorder; Neurobiology; Epigenetics; Child trauma.Abstract
Objective: To identify the possible neurobiological and epigenetic anomalies, as well as the effects of childhood trauma on the pathogenesis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Methodology: PubMed, Scielo and UpToDate were used for the narrative review, done with papers published between 2010 and 2020, resulting in 688 articles, of which 26, distinguished by inclusion criteria, served as the basis for this study Results: in neurobiology, abnormalities were found, however the studies could not prove whether such modifications originate the disorder or are due to psychopathology, whereas in genetics aberrant methylations of genes - candidates or by broad genomic selection (GWS)- may be linked to TPB etiology. Finally, the analysis of the articles about BPD and childhood trauma revealed that a significant percentage of individuals with BPD suffered abuse or neglect in childhood. Final considerations: the theory combining neurobiology, epigenetics and the environment proved to be the most plausible to explain the etiology of BPD. More studies should be carried out to understand both whether these findings are pathogenic to the disorder or its consequences, and the anatomical, functional, genetic, and environmental correlations for the pathogenesis of BPD.
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