Yale School of Medicine and Medical University of South Carolina
Lead Investigators: Thomas McGlashan, M.D. (Yale) and Mark George, M.D. (MUSC) Co-Investigators: Yale: Nash Boutros, M.D., Douglas Bremner, M.D., Carlos Grilo, Ph.D., George Heninger, M.D., Ralph Hoffman, M.D., Robert Innis, M.D., Ann Rasmusson, M.D., Charles Sanislow, Ph.D., Steven Southwick, M.D., Bruce Wexler, M.D. MUSC: Daryl Bohning, Ph.D., Monica Molloy, Ziad Nahas, M.D.

Project: Coordinated research in challenge studies assessing the psychophysiology of BPD, and treatment studies at Yale and with Dr. George and the team at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The studies include psychopharma cological treatments and the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in imaging and treatment.

Preliminary Findings: In the area of neuroimaging, the Yale group has presented findings that BPD as compared to non-BPD individuals have greater emotional activation in response to human faces with negative and neutral, but not positive (happy) expressions. Also, they have been the first to pilot the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a treatment for BPD. Finally, the assessment core is elucidating the impact of such factors as trauma, co-occurring diagnostic conditions, and ethnicity on the expression of BPD.