Cognitive neuropsychiatric analysis of an additional large Capgras delusion case series

Abstract

Introduction: Although important to cognitive neuropsychiatry and theories of delusions, Capgras delusion has largely been reported in single case studies. Bell et al. [2017. Uncovering Capgras delusion using a large scale medical records database. British Journal of Psychiatry Open, 3(4), 179-185] previously deployed computational and clinical case identification on a large-scale medical records database to report a case series of 84 individuals with Capgras delusion. We replicated this approach on a new database from a different mental health service provider while additionally examining instances of violence, given previous claims that Capgras is a forensic risk.

Methods: We identified 34 additional cases of Capgras. Delusion phenomenology, clinical characteristics, and presence of lesions detected by neuroimaging were extracted.

Results: Although most cases involved misidentification of family members or partners, a notable minority (20.6%) included the misidentification of others. Capgras typically did not present as a monothematic delusion. Few cases had identifiable lesions with no evidence of right-hemisphere bias. There was no evidence of physical violence associated with Capgras.

Conclusions: Findings closely replicate Bell et al. (2017). The majority of Capgras delusion phenomenology conforms to the "dual route" model although a significant minority of cases cannot be explained by this framework.

Keywords: Delusional misidentification; forensic; neuropsychiatry; psychosis; schizophrenia.

Figure 1.

Capgras case data extraction procedure.