COGS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Fregoli Delusion, Monothematic Delusion, Capgras Delusion
18 May 2018
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DELUSIONS
WHAT ARE DELUSIONS?
• Do not have to bizarre or false;
o Patient anxious and depressed with the belief that his wife is having an affair, just
because she leaves work late.
• Essence of the delusions is that he has no reason to believe it;
• Damage to the back of the brain can impact recognising faces;
DIFFERENT TYPES OF DELUSIONS
Mirrored-self misidentification
• Belief that when you are looking into a mirror, the person you see is not you, but some
stranger who looks like you.
• Case F - knows that the person in the mirror looks like him, is aware that he follows him, but
he doesn't think it is him.
• Case T - The person in the mirror looks a lot like him. He tries to talk to his reflection and
thinks that his reflection wasn't taught how to talk. They shave at the same time etc.
• Case MV - She can recognise herself when the mirror is tilted, and she can only see her body,
not her face. When they move closer and she can see her head she thinks it's the other
woman following her.
Capgras delusion
• Psychiatric disorder where a person holds a delusion that a friend or family member has
been replaced by an identical imposter.
Cotard delusion
• The belief that you are dead.
Fregoli delusion
• The belief that you are constantly being followed by people whom you know but cannot
recognise (because they are always in disguise).
Somatoparaphrenia
• The belief that some part of your body belongs to someone else.
Alien control
• The belief that other people can control the movements of parts of your body.
FEATURES OF DELUSIONS
Monothematic:
• May be the only odd belief that the patient expresses.
Insight:
• The patient is typically aware of how odd the belief seems to others.
Beliefs are encapsulated:
• The deluded person may not follow up on obvious consequences (e.g., contacting police
regarding wife).
They are not rare:
• Hundreds of cases of Capgras delusions in literature.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
He tries to talk to his reflection and thinks that his reflection wasn"t taught how to talk. They shave at the same time etc: case mv - she can recognise herself when the mirror is tilted, and she can only see her body, not her face. When they move closer and she can see her head she thinks it"s the other woman following her. Capgras delusion: psychiatric disorder where a person holds a delusion that a friend or family member has been replaced by an identical imposter. Cotard delusion: the belief that you are dead. Fregoli delusion: the belief that you are constantly being followed by people whom you know but cannot recognise (because they are always in disguise). Somatoparaphrenia: the belief that some part of your body belongs to someone else. Alien control: the belief that other people can control the movements of parts of your body. Monothematic: may be the only odd belief that the patient expresses.
