| Capgras delusion | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Capgras syndrome |
| Pronunciation | |
| Specialty | Psychiatry |
| Symptoms | Delusion that familiar people or pets have been replaced by identical imposters; aggression with the person suspected as an imposter |
| Complications | Violence, homicide |
| Causes | Uncertain, covert mobbing; exacerbated by head injury |
| Risk factors | Neuroanatomical damage, schizophrenia |
| Prevention | Unknown |
| Treatment | No cure; therapy generally used |
| Medication | Antipsychotics |
Capgras delusion or Capgras syndrome is a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member, or pet has been replaced by an identical impostor.[a] It is named after Joseph Capgras (1873–1950), the French psychiatrist who first described the disorder.
The Capgras delusion is classified as a delusional misidentification syndrome, a class of beliefs that involves the misidentification of people, places, or objects.[2] It can occur in acute, transient, or chronic forms. Cases in which patients hold the belief that time has been "warped" or "substituted" have also been reported.[3]
The delusion most commonly occurs in individuals diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, usually schizophrenia,[4] but has also been seen in brain injury,[5] dementia with Lewy bodies,[6] and other forms of dementia.[7] It presents often in individuals with a neurodegenerative disease, particularly at an older age;[8] it has also been reported as occurring in association with diabetes, hypothyroidism, and migraine attacks.[9] In one isolated case, the Capgras delusion was temporarily induced in a healthy subject by administration of ketamine.[10] It occurs more frequently in females, with a female to male ratio of approximately 3∶2.[11]
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