-
Delusional misidentification syndromes and dementia: a border zone between neurology and psychiatry.American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease... Nov 2013The delusional misidentification syndromes (DMSs) are psychopathologic phenomena in which a patient consistently misidentifies persons, places, objects, or events.... (Review)
Review
The delusional misidentification syndromes (DMSs) are psychopathologic phenomena in which a patient consistently misidentifies persons, places, objects, or events. Although often described in relation to psychotic states including schzofrenia, it is, nevertheless, widely considered that these syndromes have an anatomical basis because of their frequent association with organic brain disease; studies have pointed to the presence of identifiable lesions, especially in the right frontal lobe and adjacent regions, in a considerable proportion of patients. The purpose of this article is to examine the phenomenon in people with dementia. We searched the electronic databases for original research and review articles on DMS in patients with dementia using the search terms "Delusional Misidentification Syndrome, Capgras syndrome, Fregoli syndrome, reduplicative paramnesia, and dementia." The DMSs are a frequent problem in dementia. The violence and dangerousness in patients with dementia having these syndromes are well documented, and forensic aspects are highlighted. Pathogenetic viewpoint and management are considered.
Topics: Animals; Capgras Syndrome; Delusions; Dementia; Diagnosis, Differential; Diagnostic Errors; Humans
PubMed: 24164927
DOI: 10.1177/1533317513506103 -
Molecular Psychiatry Sep 2019Identifying robust markers for predicting the onset of psychosis has been a key challenge for early detection research. Persecutory delusions are core symptoms of... (Review)
Review
Identifying robust markers for predicting the onset of psychosis has been a key challenge for early detection research. Persecutory delusions are core symptoms of psychosis, and social cognition is particularly impaired in first-episode psychosis patients and individuals at risk for developing psychosis. Here, we propose new avenues for translation provided by hierarchical Bayesian models of behaviour and neuroimaging data applied in the context of social learning to target persecutory delusions. As it comprises a mechanistic model embedded in neurophysiology, the findings of this approach may shed light onto inference and neurobiological causes of transition to psychosis.
Topics: Algorithms; Anxiety; Bayes Theorem; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Computational Biology; Delusions; Female; Humans; Male; Models, Theoretical; Paranoid Disorders; Psychotic Disorders; Risk Factors; Social Behavior
PubMed: 31076646
DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0427-z -
Korean Journal of Anesthesiology Feb 2019
Topics: Child; Delusions; Humans; Nerve Block; Pain, Postoperative; Paraspinal Muscles; Specialties, Surgical
PubMed: 30732436
DOI: 10.4097/kja.d.18.00359 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2022The rapid spread of conspiracy ideas associated with the recent COVID-19 pandemic represents a major threat to the ongoing and coming vaccination programs. Yet, the...
The rapid spread of conspiracy ideas associated with the recent COVID-19 pandemic represents a major threat to the ongoing and coming vaccination programs. Yet, the cognitive factors underlying the pandemic-related conspiracy beliefs are not well described. We hypothesized that such cognitive style is driven by delusion proneness, a trait phenotype associated with formation of delusion-like beliefs that exists on a continuum in the normal population. To probe this hypothesis, we developed a COVID-19 conspiracy questionnaire (CCQ) and assessed 577 subjects online. Their responses clustered into three factors that included Conspiracy, Distrust and Fear/Action as identified using principal component analysis. We then showed that CCQ (in particular the Conspiracy and Distrust factors) related both to general delusion proneness assessed with Peter's Delusion Inventory (PDI) as well as resistance to belief update using a Bias Against Disconfirmatory Evidence (BADE) task. Further, linear regression and pathway analyses suggested a specific contribution of BADE to CCQ not directly explained by PDI. Importantly, the main results remained significant when using a truncated version of the PDI where questions on paranoia were removed (in order to avoid circular evidence), and when adjusting for ADHD- and autistic traits (that are known to be substantially related to delusion proneness). Altogether, our results strongly suggest that pandemic-related conspiracy ideation is associated with delusion proneness trait phenotype.
Topics: COVID-19; Delusions; Humans; Pandemics; Paranoid Disorders; Phenotype
PubMed: 35725585
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14071-7 -
Forensic Science, Medicine, and... Jun 2021Despite being an infrequent crime, parental homicide has been associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in adult perpetrators and a history of child abuse and... (Review)
Review
Despite being an infrequent crime, parental homicide has been associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in adult perpetrators and a history of child abuse and family violence in adolescent perpetrators. Among severe psychiatric disorders there is initial evidence that delusional misidentification might also play a role in parricide. Parricides are often committed with undue violence and may result in overkill. The authors present the case of an adult male affected by schizoaffective disorder and Capgras syndrome who committed patricide. Forensic pathologists classify such cases as overkill by multiple fatal means comprising stabbing, blunt trauma and choking. Accurate crime scene investigations coupled with psychiatric examinations of perpetrator allow reconstruction of the murder stages. This overkill case is discussed in the context of a broad review of the literature.
Topics: Adolescent; Aged, 80 and over; Capgras Syndrome; Criminals; Delusions; Domestic Violence; Homicide; Humans; Male
PubMed: 32946065
DOI: 10.1007/s12024-020-00314-4 -
Psychiatria Polska Oct 2023We present a case study of a patient who was hospitalized with the initial diagnosis of psychotic depression with predominant delusions of poverty. During his hospital... (Review)
Review
We present a case study of a patient who was hospitalized with the initial diagnosis of psychotic depression with predominant delusions of poverty. During his hospital stay despite antidepressant and antipsychotic treatment with 150 mg of sertraline and 20 mg of olanzapine per day, no symptomatic improvement was achieved. Besides, the psychotic features have risen to the fore along with inadequately vaguely expressed affective component. What drew attention was the coherence and permanence of delusional judgements, which, albeit variable in expression, always concerned one theme - the belief of an inevitable bankruptcy. The whole clinical picture, both with the objectifying interview defining the order of emerging symptoms, was suggestive and the verification of diagnosis was made. Persistent delusional disorder with delusions of poverty with subsequent mood disorder was diagnosed. The treatment with 275 mg of clozapine per day was started and we observed a slow gradual withdrawal of psychosis as well as a total normalization of the affective range. The case illustrates the importance of differential diagnosis of mental states in which psychotic features coexist with affective symptoms. It is helpful to determine the sequence of the symptoms development. It should be noted that although the ICD-10 classification distinguishes exclusively 7 subtypes of persistent delusional disorder, in the clinical practice we can encounter other thematic areas of psychosis. It brings substantial therapeutic and prognostic implications.
Topics: Humans; Delusions; Schizophrenia, Paranoid; Psychotic Disorders; Antipsychotic Agents; Poverty
PubMed: 36370381
DOI: 10.12740/PP/OnlineFirst/143044 -
Psychogeriatrics : the Official Journal... Sep 2012Previous findings on neural correlates of delusion in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been inconsistent because of methodological issues, such as treating multiple...
BACKGROUND
Previous findings on neural correlates of delusion in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been inconsistent because of methodological issues, such as treating multiple delusions as a single entity. In this retrospective study, we classified AD delusions and investigated their neural correlates by using single-photon emission computed tomography data.
METHODS
We selected AD patients with delusions from our consecutive outpatients from 2004 to 2010. In this study, eight types of delusions were evaluated with Neuropsychiatric Inventory and classified by factor analysis. Twenty-five of the patients also had single-photon emission computed tomography data, which we used to assess the relationships between cerebral regions of hypoperfusion and hyperperfusion and each classified delusion. The relations were assessed using Statistical Parametric Mapping with normalization to the white matter cerebral blood flow.
RESULTS
The delusions were classified into three factors. Factor 1 consisted of a belief that his/her house is not his/her home, phantom boarder symptom, delusion of abandonment, and belief that one's spouse or others are not who they claim to be. Factor 1 was related to hypoperfusion in the right temporal pole and hyperperfusion in the medial frontal and precentral regions. Factor 2 consisted of delusion relating to the television and delusion of persecution. Factor 2 was related to hypoperfusion in the precuneus and hyperperfusion in the insula and thalamus. Factor 3 consisted of delusion of abandonment and delusional jealousy. Factor 3 was related to hypoperfusion in the right inferior temporal and frontal regions and hyperperfusion in the middle frontal gyrus, insula and posterior cingulate gyrus. Delusion of theft was not included in any factors, and it was related to hypoperfusion in the bilateral thalami and left posterior cingulate gyrus and hyperperfusion in the left inferior frontal regions and anterior cingulate gyrus.
CONCLUSIONS
Delusions in AD were classifiable, and each classified delusion was related to different neural networks.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease; Brain; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Delusions; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Regional Blood Flow; Retrospective Studies; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
PubMed: 22994619
DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-8301.2012.00427.x -
Schizophrenia Bulletin Jan 2007From phenomenological and experimental perspectives, research in schizophrenia has emphasized deficits in "higher" cognitive functions, including attention, executive... (Review)
Review
From phenomenological and experimental perspectives, research in schizophrenia has emphasized deficits in "higher" cognitive functions, including attention, executive function, as well as memory. In contrast, general consensus has viewed dysfunctions in basic perceptual processes to be relatively unimportant in the explanation of more complex aspects of the disorder, including changes in self-experience and the development of symptoms such as delusions. We present evidence from phenomenology and cognitive neuroscience that changes in the perceptual field in schizophrenia may represent a core impairment. After introducing the phenomenological approach to perception (Husserl, the Gestalt School), we discuss the views of Paul Matussek, Klaus Conrad, Ludwig Binswanger, and Wolfgang Blankenburg on perception in schizophrenia. These 4 psychiatrists describe changes in perception and automatic processes that are related to the altered experience of self. The altered self-experience, in turn, may be responsible for the emergence of delusions. The phenomenological data are compatible with current research that conceptualizes dysfunctions in perceptual processing as a deficit in the ability to combine stimulus elements into coherent object representations. Relationships of deficits in perceptual organization to cognitive and social dysfunction as well as the possible neurobiological mechanisms are discussed.
Topics: Attention; Automatism; Awareness; Brain; Cognition Disorders; Delusions; Humans; Mental Recall; Neuropsychological Tests; Perceptual Disorders; Problem Solving; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Self Concept
PubMed: 17118973
DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbl047 -
Psychiatria Polska Feb 2018Identification with Christ among psychiatric patients is an example of a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. As a delusion it includes a misidentification (change of... (Review)
Review
Identification with Christ among psychiatric patients is an example of a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. As a delusion it includes a misidentification (change of identity) in the layer of content and, usually, grandiosity and/or paranoid traits in the formal aspect. What is more, it fits in the category of religious delusions, which are perhaps the most controversial type of delusions and as such require special sensitivity as well as knowledge beyond psychology or psychiatry. The aim of the articleis to show the phenomenon of identification with Christ among psychiatric patients, taking into account different ways of its explaining and understanding. Papers relating to the topic, both theoretical considerations and case studies, found in the EBSCO database were analyzed. Searching for the articles the following key words were used: identity, identification, delusion, Jesus/Christ/Messiah, psychosis, schizophrenia. The analysis included all (actually not numerous) articles except for the one linked to cognitive approach which did not significantly contribute to the issue. Given the multiplicity of ways of explaining and understanding the experience of identification with the figure of the Messiah, it seems to be a mistake to hold both objectivist and one-sided, based on one theory, attitude towards it. Such an experience should be recognized in the context of the history of patient's life and the all possible mechanisms leading to its occurrence, as well as the meanings hidden beneath the symptom, should be take into account. It is also important to be well-oriented in the system of religious beliefs and spiritual needs of the patient.
Topics: Delusions; Dissociative Identity Disorder; Hallucinations; Humans; Identification, Psychological; Mentally Ill Persons; Psychotic Disorders; Religion; Religion and Psychology; Self Concept
PubMed: 29704415
DOI: 10.12740/PP/64378 -
Scientific Reports Sep 2021Action binding is the effect that the perceived time of an action is shifted towards the action related feedback. A much larger action binding effect in schizophrenia... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Action binding is the effect that the perceived time of an action is shifted towards the action related feedback. A much larger action binding effect in schizophrenia compared to normal controls has been shown, which might be due to positive symptoms like delusions. Here we investigated the relationship between delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals, predicting a positive correlation between them. The action binding effect was evaluated by comparing the perceived time of a keypress between an operant (keypress triggering a sound) and a baseline condition (keypress alone), with a novel testing method that massively improved the precision of the subjective timing measurement. A positive correlation was found between the tendency of delusional thinking (measured by the 21-item Peters et al. delusions inventory) and action binding across participants after controlling for the effect of testing order between operant and baseline conditions. The results indicate that delusional thinking in particular influences action time perception and support the notion of a continuous distribution of schizotypal traits with normal controls at one end and clinical patients at the other end.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Delusions; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Male; Reaction Time; Thinking; Time Perception; Young Adult
PubMed: 34556707
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97977-y