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Topics in Cognitive Science Oct 2014Fregoli delusion is the mistaken belief that some person currently present in the deluded person's environment (typically a stranger) is a familiar person in disguise.... (Review)
Review
Fregoli delusion is the mistaken belief that some person currently present in the deluded person's environment (typically a stranger) is a familiar person in disguise. The stranger is believed to be psychologically identical to this known person (who is not present) even though the deluded person perceives the physical appearance of the stranger as being different from the known person's typical appearance. To gain a deeper understanding of this contradictory error in the normal system for tracking and identifying known persons, we conducted a detailed survey of all the Fregoli cases reported in the literature since the seminal Courbon and Fail (1927) paper. Our preliminary reading of these cases revealed a notable lack of definitional clarity. So, we first formulated a classification scheme of different person misidentification delusions so as to identify those cases that qualified as instances of Fregoli according to the above characterization: the mistaken belief that a known person is present in the environment in a different guise to his or her typical appearance. We identified 38 clear cases of this type and set out to answer a series of questions motivated by current hypotheses about the origin of the Fregoli delusion. We asked whether the patients misidentified particular strangers, made reference to the misidentified known persons using wigs or plastic surgery (or other techniques to disguise their appearance), misidentified many different strangers or only one, showed other symptoms (in particular, other misidentification delusions), and made inferences about the motives of the known persons in disguise. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for current hypotheses concerning the origin of the Fregoli delusion.
Topics: Capgras Syndrome; Delusions; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Prosopagnosia; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 25219764
DOI: 10.1111/tops.12108 -
Behavioural Neurology 2008Nonconvulsive status epilepticus can manifest as personality changes and psychosis. We report an 87-year-old right-handed male presenting with both Capgras syndrome and...
Nonconvulsive status epilepticus can manifest as personality changes and psychosis. We report an 87-year-old right-handed male presenting with both Capgras syndrome and severe unilateral spatial neglect during nonconvulsive status epilepticus. After treatment of his seizures, his Capgras syndrome and hemispatial neglect resolved. This case illustrates a report of the confluence of Capgras syndrome and documented hemispatial neglect in nonconvulsive status epilepticus only reported once previously [1].
Topics: Aged, 80 and over; Anticonvulsants; Capgras Syndrome; Functional Laterality; Humans; Male; Perceptual Disorders; Phenytoin; Status Epilepticus; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 19491475
DOI: 10.3233/BEN-2008-0210 -
Brain : a Journal of Neurology Feb 2017SEE MCKAY AND FURL DOI101093/AWW323 FOR A SCIENTIFIC COMMENTARY ON THIS ARTICLE: Focal brain injury can sometimes lead to bizarre symptoms, such as the delusion that a...
SEE MCKAY AND FURL DOI101093/AWW323 FOR A SCIENTIFIC COMMENTARY ON THIS ARTICLE: Focal brain injury can sometimes lead to bizarre symptoms, such as the delusion that a family member has been replaced by an imposter (Capgras syndrome). How a single brain lesion could cause such a complex disorder is unclear, leading many to speculate that concurrent delirium, psychiatric disease, dementia, or a second lesion is required. Here we instead propose that Capgras and other delusional misidentification syndromes arise from single lesions at unique locations within the human brain connectome. This hypothesis is motivated by evidence that symptoms emerge from sites functionally connected to a lesion location, not just the lesion location itself. First, 17 cases of lesion-induced delusional misidentifications were identified and lesion locations were mapped to a common brain atlas. Second, lesion network mapping was used to identify brain regions functionally connected to the lesion locations. Third, regions involved in familiarity perception and belief evaluation, two processes thought to be abnormal in delusional misidentifications, were identified using meta-analyses of previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. We found that all 17 lesion locations were functionally connected to the left retrosplenial cortex, the region most activated in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of familiarity. Similarly, 16 of 17 lesion locations were functionally connected to the right frontal cortex, the region most activated in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of expectation violation, a component of belief evaluation. This connectivity pattern was highly specific for delusional misidentifications compared to four other lesion-induced neurological syndromes (P < 0.0001). Finally, 15 lesions causing other types of delusions were connected to expectation violation (P < 0.0001) but not familiarity regions, demonstrating specificity for delusion content. Our results provide potential neuroanatomical correlates for impaired familiarity perception and belief evaluation in patients with delusional misidentifications. More generally, we demonstrate a mechanism by which a single lesion can cause a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome based on that lesion's unique pattern of functional connectivity, without the need for pre-existing or hidden pathology.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brain; Brain Injuries; Brain Mapping; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Motivation; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Recognition, Psychology; Schizophrenia, Paranoid
PubMed: 28082298
DOI: 10.1093/brain/aww288 -
The Primary Care Companion For CNS... Nov 2023
Topics: Humans; Glioma, Subependymal; Capgras Syndrome; Craniotomy
PubMed: 37976231
DOI: 10.4088/PCC.23cr03524 -
Neurologia I Neurochirurgia Polska 2021
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Capgras Syndrome; Cerebral Cortex; Humans; Lewy Bodies; Lewy Body Disease
PubMed: 34846065
DOI: 10.5603/PJNNS.a2021.0086 -
Case Reports in Neurology 2021Capgras syndrome is a condition characterized by the belief that a relative has been replaced by an almost identical imposter. The disorder has been reported in several...
Capgras syndrome is a condition characterized by the belief that a relative has been replaced by an almost identical imposter. The disorder has been reported in several neurological diseases. We describe the uncommon case of a transient Capgras syndrome manifesting as focal temporal seizures in a woman with a right frontal meningioma. Our patient represents an exceptional case of Capgras syndrome for several reasons, namely, the association with meningioma, very rarely reported before, the transient manifestation of symptoms, and, most importantly, the epileptic etiology of reduplicative paramnesias. Lastly, our report also confirms the importance of frontal and right hemisphere dysfunction in generating Capgras syndrome-like delusions.
PubMed: 34177534
DOI: 10.1159/000513675 -
The Primary Care Companion For CNS... Mar 2022
Topics: Capgras Syndrome; Delusions; Ill-Housed Persons; Humans; Male; Pellagra; Schizophrenia
PubMed: 35276758
DOI: 10.4088/PCC.21cr03014 -
Turk Psikiyatri Dergisi = Turkish... 2005Capgras syndrome (CS) is characterized by the delusional belief that a person, usually very close to the patient, has been replaced by a double who is physically very... (Review)
Review
Capgras syndrome (CS) is characterized by the delusional belief that a person, usually very close to the patient, has been replaced by a double who is physically very similar to the original. CS is relatively rare, occurring predominantly in course of schizophrenia, particularly of the paranoid sub-type, and less frequently in association with schizoaffective and affective disorder. Recent years have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of published CS cases with an organic etiology; however, CS was considered to have its origins in psychodynamic conflict. We present a patient with the CS and brain SPECT findings whom without psychiatric disorder. As an evaluation of brain SPECT, there have been found a significantly decreased blood flow in bilateral parietal regions and slightly decreased blood flow in bilateral posterior frontal regions. Cerebral dysfunction is proposed to be a central role in CS development. Unilateral right hemisphere lesions occur more frequently than the left; however, the majority of CS cases show bilateral involvement. Pathology involves many parts of the brain, most notably frontal and parietal cortex. Our findings support that frontoparietal dysfunction could be important in the pathogenesis of CS. We reviewed the neurobiology of CS and discussed our findings in this article. CS studies will give a better understanding of the neurobiological basis of psychotic experiences and may contribute to develop a paradigm on researches about other psychotic disorders.
Topics: Adult; Capgras Syndrome; Cerebral Cortex; Female; Humans; Parietal Lobe; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
PubMed: 16362848
DOI: No ID Found -
Postgraduate Medical Journal Dec 1990Capgras' syndrome, one form of the delusional misidentification syndromes, is described. Three patients with the syndrome are reported. The first had a right cerebral...
Capgras' syndrome, one form of the delusional misidentification syndromes, is described. Three patients with the syndrome are reported. The first had a right cerebral infarction, the second had nephrotic syndrome secondary to severe pre-eclampsia in the puerperium, and the third had uncontrolled diabetes mellitus with dementia. Evidence is reviewed regarding an organic aetiology for Capgras' syndrome. We conclude that, when the syndrome is present, a thorough search for organic disorder should be made.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Capgras Syndrome; Cerebral Infarction; Dementia; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Female; Humans; Nephrotic Syndrome; Pregnancy; Puerperal Disorders
PubMed: 2084656
DOI: 10.1136/pgmj.66.782.1064 -
The Primary Care Companion For CNS... 2014
PubMed: 24940520
DOI: 10.4088/PCC.13l01570