Delusional Misidentification: A Clinical, Neuropsychological and Brain Imaging Case Study

• Published in: Psychopathology Vol. 27; no. 3-5; pp. 200 - 210
• Main Authors: Paillère-Martinot, M.L, Dao-Castellana, M.H., Masure, M.C., Pillon, B., Martinot, J.L.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Karger 1994
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Capgras Syndrome - diagnosis; Capgras Syndrome - physiopathology; Capgras Syndrome - psychology; Corpus Striatum - physiopathology; Delusions - diagnosis; Delusions - physiopathology; Delusions - psychology; Dominance, Cerebral - physiology; Female; Frontal Lobe - physiopathology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medical sciences; Neurocognitive Disorders - diagnosis; Neurocognitive Disorders - physiopathology; Neurocognitive Disorders - psychology; Neuropsychological Tests; Other psychotic disorders; Parietal Lobe - physiopathology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; The Delusional Misidentification Syndromes; Tomography, Emission-Computed; Human; Case study; Neuropsychiatry; Capgras syndrome; Young adult; Delusion; Personal identity; Diagnosis; Delusion psychosis; Positron emission tomography
• ISBN: 9783805560825; 3805560826
• ISSN: 0254-4962; 1423-033X
• DOI: 10.1159/000284870

The case of a young woman with a disorder involving Capgras syndrome, FrÉgoli syndrome, intermetamorphosis, and the subjective-doubles syndrome is reported. Neuropsychological assessment showed a low efficiency in the complex visuospatial organization tasks and in non-verbal memory. MRI found a left lenticular hypodensity, and two PET scans performed in the symptomatic and recovered states showed significant changes and asymmetries in cerebral glucose metabolism in the frontal, parietal, and subcortical regions. These findings are discussed with respect to recent models of delusional mis-identification syndromes.