Evolution of Capgras syndrome in neurodegenerative disease: the multiplication phenomenon

ABSTRACT

Capgras syndrome (CS) is a delusional misidentification syndrome that is encountered in various pathologies. Here, we report the case of an 83-year-old woman affected by dementia with Lewy bodies who presented a CS during the disease. The neuropsychological assessment showed executive and face processing deficits. In this case, CS was characterized, in the beginning, by the duplication of a relative and then by its multiplication. To our knowledge, the description of the evolution of a CS in the course of a neurodegenerative disease is rare and we discuss this multiplication phenomenon in light of existing models of delusions.

KEYWORDS:

• Capgras syndrome
• delusional misidentification
• multiplication phenomenon
• dementia with Lewy bodies
• neurodegenerative disease

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.