CAPGRAS DELUSION

WHAT IS IT?

• The Capgras delusion was named after Joseph Capgras
• Patient is convinced people close to them have been replaced by Impostors
• Seen literally in 1956 movie, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"

WHY?

• This is a delusion typically found in patients suffering from Prosopagnosia - faceblindness
• Most often seen in patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia
• Patient is unable to register familiarity with a face, and sees person as stranger
• Patient rationalizes the problem until concluding that the person is an imposter
• Therapy is ideal, though difficult to convince patient of error

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CASES

• A 40 year old named Mary was convinced her daughter was an imposter
• She was diagnosec with the Capgras delusion in 2011
• Treatments were unsuccessful and eventually social services took away her daughter, Sarah.

CASES

• Mrs A.
• 45 year old woman with multiple sclerosis who assaulted her husband thinking he was somone else
• Convinced two sons were murdered and replaced with doubles
• Eventually received medication and no longer suffered from delusions

CITATIONS

• "Alzheimer's and Capgras Syndrome." Questions That Matter. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
• "Capgras Delusion." - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
• "That's Not My Child: A Case of Capgras Syndrome." That's Not My Child: A Case of Capgras Syndrome. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.
• Sharma, Ashish, Mariam Garuba, and Matthew Egbert. "Capgras Syndrome in a Patient With Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Report." Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc., n.d. Web. 04 June 2015.