A systematic review of structural MRI investigations within borderline personality disorder: Identification of key psychological variables of interest going forward

•There are existing meta-analyses investigating grey matter volume in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) however these have focused on studies comparing BPD participants with control participants. The present paper offers a novel contribution to the field as it is the first to synthesize and investigate across study protocols how psychological variables relate to structural neurobiology in the disorder.•The paper also offers a novel protocol for assessing study quality in MRI research . We believe this offers a valid method based on the comprehensive, gold standard MRI reporting guidelines of CORBIDAS. It is both user-friendly and clear for future researchers to use.•The manuscript also offers real world, systematic and clear recommendations for the future directions in imaging research within BPD.