Scientists probe Brain's Decision-Making in borderline personality disorder
NCT ID NCT06880640
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at how stress and personality traits influence decision-making in people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) compared to healthy adults. About 106 participants aged 18-45 will complete online tasks, a stress test, surveys, and have their heart rate, sweat response, and blood samples taken. The goal is to understand the link between nervous system activity and choices, which may help develop better ways to diagnose or treat BPD in the future.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help identify specific decision-making patterns in borderline personality disorder, potentially guiding future treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early observational study, not testing a treatment. It may not lead to direct clinical changes, and results may not apply to all individuals with BPD.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 106 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 45 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) group: * Score of 38 or higher on Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline Scale (PAI-BOR) * Participants in the BPD group will be primarily recruited from the two DEPENd lab studies that maintain large samples of BPD participants. To ensure maximal similarity between BPD participants recruited from other DEPENd lab studies and BPD participants recruited through other recruitment sources, the investigators will use the same criteria for the BPD group in the current study as the criteria used in the other DEPENd lab studies. BPD participants in the two DEPENd lab studies from which the investigators will be recruiting must meet the following criteria: 1. 3+ BPD symptoms, one of which must be affective instability, per clinical interview 2. Participants must score at least 80 on the Reynolds Intellectual Screening Test (RIST). Health Control (HC) Group: * Score of 12 or lower on PAI-BOR * Score below 50th percentile on World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) * Absence of any current or lifetime psychiatric disorder, including personality disorders as determined by diagnostic interviews (SIDP and SCID), if the participant had participated in the lab's other studies (IRB Nos. 20-1735 and 21-0602). Combined Inclusion Criteria: * Ages 18-45 * Provision of signed and dated informed consent form * Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and lifestyle considerations and availability for the duration of the study * Willingness to participate in all components of the study * Participants must be able to speak, understand and read English. * Participants must have at least 20/40 visual acuity (correct or uncorrected). Exclusion Criteria: * Use of as needed antihypertensive agents within 12 hours prior to lab visit * Inability to refrain from using as needed psychotropic medications for 12 hours prior to lab visit * History of psychotic disorder, Bipolar I disorder, autism spectrum disorder, reactive attachment disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, motor disorder, head injury, mental retardation, neurological disorder, or current substance dependence * Family history of Bipolar I disorder in a first degree relative. * Participants are also excluded for any of the following: cardiac pacemaker, aneurysm clip, cochlear implants, pregnancy, shrapnel, history of metal fragments in eyes, neurostimulators, weight of 250 lbs. or more, or claustrophobia.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
RECRUITINGChapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514, United States
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