This paper reviews the historical origins and psychopathological dimensions of the borderline disorder. The author suggests that Kahlbaum’s clinical category “Heiboidophrenie”, introduced in 1890, is an eligible candidate as a protoconcept in the history of latent schizophrenia and borderline disorders. In the late 1970’s and 1980’s, under the influence of DSM-III, latent or borderline schizophrenia split into two personality disorders: schizotype and borderline. Some psycopathological aspects of borderline personality disorder are presented, concerning specially affective symptoms ad social interaction disruption.
Borderline disorder; latent schizophrenia; history of psychopathology