Grant: Operating Grant

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are common and serious psychiatric illnesses linked to persistent violent behavior. Between 8-10% of individuals with BPD die from self-inflicted violence, and 85% of people with ASPD inflict violence on others. Anxiety, impulsivity, and poor stress management are well-known risk factors for persistent violence in BPD and ASPD. Yet, we know very little about the brain chemistry of these conditions or how brain changes associated with anxiety, impulsivity, and stress may predispose to violence in BPD and ASPD. There are currently no medical treatments that specifically target violence in BPD or ASPD. We believe that high amounts of a brain chemical called fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) may contribute to persistent violence in BPD and ASPD. Animals with high FAAH levels are more anxious and impulsive, and stress has been shown to increase FAAH in the brains of rodents. Moreover, brain chemicals related to FAAH are different in BPD and ASPD, and brain levels of FAAH are higher in people who have died from self-inflicted violence. This study proposes to measure brain FAAH level in BPD and ASPD using a state-of-the-art brain imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET). We believe that persistent violence in ASPD and BPD may be related to high FAAH level in certain brain regions, especially in patients who are overly anxious, impulsive, or have poor stress coping mechanisms. We aim to measure FAAH level in BPD and ASPD patients with persistent violence and healthy people who have never been violent. We expect that ASPD and BPD patients with persistent violence will have higher levels of brain FAAH. These anticipated findings could provide the impetus for developing new treatments that reduce violence in ASPD and BPD by lowering brain FAAH levels.