 Eating disorders have been associated with a fragile sense of self and with disordered mentalization.Many personality traits have a genetic component and are highly heritable.Maladaptive levels of certain traits may be acquired as a result of anoxic or traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, neurotoxicity such as lead exposure, bacterial infection such as Lyme disease or parasitic infection such as Toxoplasma gondii as well as hormonal influences.