"Her Brain Tormented Her, and Doctors Could Not Understand Why"
Pam Tusiani's story is all-too-familiar in patients with borderline personality disorder, or BPD, a psychiatric syndrome that has gained recognition only in recent decades and affects as many as 16 million Americans. What was once thought to be the result of child abuse or a manifestation of post-traumatic stress is now its own complex personality disorder. In July, more than two dozen scientists and clinicians, gathered to discuss the latest studies. "The real directions that we need to take are doing more longitudinal studies with at-risk individuals at a young age," said Antonia New, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who studies the neurobiology of BPD. Employing brain imaging technology-positron emission tomography (PET)-Dr. New has shown that BPD patients have abnormalities in the connections forged between the amygdala and other structures.
- Antonia New, MD, Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai