The Capgras Delusion

Delusional misidentification is the term used to classify a rare set of psychiatric disorders whose symptomatology involves the formation of specific mono-thematic and circumscribed delusions which are resistant to revision. The specificity of the delusional content is a characteristic feature of each respective condition, and a key explanadum . Over the years, a variety of delusional misidentifications have been reported and added to periodically, albeit with a regularity in keeping with their rarity. Vörös, Tényi, Simon and Trixler (2003), for example, recently reported a new form of delusional misidentification — Clonal Pluralization of the Self — in which the patient believed he was being cloned as a woman. More common is the Frégoli delusion in which patients believe that strangers are the same person in disguise. The most commonly reported and discussed example of delusional misidentification is the Capgras delusion: typically the belief that at least one family member or friend — some significant other — is an impostor. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.