Attention bias and working memory in people with borderline personality symptoms with and without non-suicidal self-injury

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is considered as a chronic mental disorder accompanied by emotion dysregulation, dysfunctional interpersonal relationships, and self-injury. Despite a wealth of research on the neurocognitive process in BPD, there is no studies provide evidence for associations between BPD, RS, ARS, attention bias, and working memory (WM) functions. The present study aimed to investigate relationships between emotional WM operations, attention bias, rejection sensitivity, rumination, and BPD symptomatology; and compare BPD individuals with and without NSSI on these mentioned variables.

A sample of 39 participants with BPD + NSSI, 47 with BPD - NSSI, and 46 healthy participants were selected. The research tools included the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Anger Rumination Scale (ARS). All participants performed an emotional two-back task, and the dot-probe task.

The more significant levels of borderline pathology, anger rumination, and rejection sensitivity were related to slower discarding angry and pain stimuli from WM and a higher level of attention bias to anger and pain. The obtained results revealed that people with BPD symptoms with and without NSSI show attention bias to anger and pain stimuli and are notably slower at discarding angry and pain stimuli from WM. BPD patients with NSSI were also slower at entering happy stimuli into WM compared to the other groups.

This study’s findings could point to a deficit in AB and WM operations to anger and pain cues that can help clinicians and researchers, make interventions for improving these cognitive dysfunctions in people with BPD with and without NSSI.