Welcome to the Fineberg Lab!
We conduct clinical psychiatric research, focused on investigating the neurobiological mechanisms behind borderline personality disorder (BPD) and related mental health conditions. We are also interested in testing the efficacy of novel and emerging treatments. We operate with a commitment to understanding and advocating for the lived experiences of people with BPD.
Affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine: Department of Psychiatry, we are located at the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) in New Haven, CT.
Our Research
Social Reinforcement Learning & Social Perception in Psychopathology
We are interested in the ways social perception and social learning differ across mental health conditions, specifically disorders with prominent impacts on social cognition, such as BPD. We recruit research participants from a variety of groups, including psychiatric control groups, people with current BPD, and people who have achieved functional recovery. Our methods span functional neuroimaging (fMRI) analysis, computer-based social learning and social perception tasks, and script-based imaginal exposure to social situations. Click here to learn more about our current projects.
Treatment for BPD and Related Conditions
Currently, few clearly-efficacious medication options exist to treat BPD. There are several evidence-based psychotherapy treatments, but they are not scalable to the population of people who need them. Our lab is committed to investigating novel treatments toward reliable options to achieve symptom relief and recovery from this highly distressing disorder. Recent projects include the first clinical trial of the rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine for BPD. Our upcoming work trials mindfulness-based real-time fMRI neurofeedback to increase benefits of psychotherapy for adults with BPD. Click here to see a full list of our recent publications.
Self experience in BPD
BPD is a disorder subject to a high degree of social and clinical stigma. We value opportunities to grow our understanding of the experiences of people with BPD in their own words via in-depth clinical interviewing and targeted implementation of qualitative methods. Current qualitative projects include efforts to understand the experience of BPD recovery (and what language works to describe these processes), experiences of body modifications and their relationships to emotion and self-concept, and experiences navigating work. We also conduct lexical analyses to identify potential speech-based markers of distress in BPD. Click here if you’re interested in participating in research with us.