What is Capgras Syndrome - Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Capgras' syndrome is a rare kind of mental disorder also known as delusional disorder in which patient replaces people close to him or her with imposters. It is proposed that it happens due to lesion or structural defect in temporal and frontal lobes.

This syndrome was first described by Capgras and Reboul Lachaux in 1923. It was a woman in which capgras syndrome was first discovered or identified. She was suffering from chronic paranoid psychosis who became convinced that multiple persons, including members of her family, had been replaced by imposters. She also asserted that there were several duplicates of herself.

Later on several cases of capgras syndrome or delusional disorder were identified right after its discovery. The essence of the disorder lies in the delusional belief that a person or persons, generally close to the patient, have been replaced by "doubles" or imposters,"

Contents

• Capgras Syndrome Definition
• Capgras Syndrome Symptoms
• Capgras Syndrome Causes
• Capgras Syndrome Treatment

Capgras Syndrome Definition

Capgras syndrome can be defined as a mental disorder characterized by the delusion that someone to whom one is close has been replaced by an imposter. This condition is also know as Capgras delusion.

Another most popular theory about its development is that patient is missing a feeling of emotional arousal that the sight of a significant person normally produces, and that the impostor claim is a confabulation created to explain why the person feels different to the patient.

Capgras Syndrome Symptoms

Symptoms or manifestation of capgras syndrome are almost common in all patients. These symptoms are delusion that a close relative or friend has been replaced by an identical looking imposter, miss-identification of persons, objects or locations.Organs involved in this kind of disorder are brain. Capgrass syndrome may be acute, chronic or transient in nature.

According to reported cases it is observed that this disorder is more common in females as compared to males.The ration of incidence rate is 3:2.

  

Capgras Syndrome Causes

The exact mechanism that triggers the formation of capgras syndrome is unknown but it is strongly believed that certain mental abnormalities play important role in development of this disorder. These abnormalities are brain injury, temporal and frontal lobe lesions, dementia, neuro-degenerative disease like Parkinson disease.

 Capgras Syndrome Treatment

 Treatment of capgras syndrome is same like other mental disorders are being treated. It might have both structural and functional problems like temporal lesions along with functional abnormalities so, all other suspected conditions must be rule out before starting therapeutic treatment.

Therapeutic treatment of capgras syndrome includes anti-psychotics drugs that includes both typical and atypical anti-psychotic drugs, some CNS depressants may also be used in case of severity and anti-convulsant drugs in case of muscle twitching or seizures.