Supplementary Material for: Emotions and Memory in Borderline Personality Disorder

Memory processes such as encoding, storage, and retrieval of information are influenced by emotional content. Because patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are particularly susceptible to emotional information, it is relevant to understand whether such memory processes are altered in this patient group. This systematic literature review collects current evidence on this issue. Research suggests that emotional information interferes more strongly with information processing and learning in BPD patients than in healthy controls. In general, BPD patients do not seem to differ from healthy control subjects in their ability to memorize emotional information, but they tend to have specific difficulties forgetting negative information. Also, BPD patients seem to recall autobiographical, particularly negative events with stronger arousal than healthy controls, while BPD patients also show specific temporo-prefrontal alterations in neural correlates. No substantial evidence was found that the current affective state influences learning and memory in BPD patients any differently than in healthy control subjects. In general, a depressive mood seems to both deteriorate and negatively bias information processing and memories, while there is evidence that dissociative symptoms impair learning and memory independently of stimulus valence. This review discusses methodological challenges of studies on memory and emotions in BPD and makes suggestions for future research and clinical implications.

信息的编码、存储与提取等记忆加工过程，会受到情绪性内容的影响。由于边缘型人格障碍（Borderline Personality Disorder, BPD）患者对情绪性信息格外敏感，因此探究该患者群体的记忆加工过程是否存在异常具有重要意义。本系统综述收集了针对该议题的现有研究证据。研究表明，相较于健康对照者，情绪性信息对BPD患者的信息加工与学习的干扰作用更强。总体而言，BPD患者在记忆情绪性信息的能力上与健康对照者并无显著差异，但他们在遗忘负性信息方面往往存在特定困难。此外，相较于健康对照者，BPD患者在回忆自传体事件（尤其是负性事件）时会表现出更强的情绪唤醒，同时其神经关联物也存在特定的颞叶-前额叶改变。目前尚无充分证据表明，当前的情绪状态对BPD患者学习与记忆的影响模式与健康对照者存在差异。总体而言，抑郁情绪似乎会同时损害信息加工与记忆功能，并使其产生负性偏向；而现有证据表明，分离症状会独立于刺激效价损害学习与记忆能力。本综述探讨了BPD患者记忆与情绪相关研究的方法学挑战，并对未来研究方向及临床应用提出了建议。