On the edge of Capgras’ syndrome

Andrea Turano 1, Cecilia Caravaggi 2, Giuseppe Ducci 2, Silvia Bernardini 2, Pier Luca Bandinelli 2

1 Department of Pyschiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Rome, Italy; 2 Department of Mental Health ASL Roma 1, Rome, Italy

DOI 10.36148/2284-0249-386

Capgras’ syndrome, the delusional belief in the existence of doubles of others or of oneself, belongs to the delusional misidentification syndromes (DMSs), a group of syndromes characterized by delusional misidentification of oneself and/or of other people. These syndromes are not codified as diagnoses per se on the DSM-5 or on the ICD-11, and are usually seen as specific presentations of broader psychiatric disorders. Capgras’ syndrome has been shown on both psychiatric and non-psychiatric disorders, thus not being a manageable tool in helping clinicians to define a diagnosis. Presenting what we believe is a special case of Capgras’ syndrome, we aim to propose a characterization of such syndrome very specific of schizophrenic – and thus psychiatric – conditions, which may turn especially useful in clinical pictures where no other psychiatric or medical symptoms are found and can help defining a diagnosis. 

Scarica il PDF