Capgras Syndrome: Agnosia of Identification and Delusion of Reduplication

Abstract

In the Capgras syndrome (CS) there is a natural dissociation between recognition and identification and it deserves to be designated as an agnosia of identification. Joseph Capgras who first introduced this concept of agnosia, also suggested that the syndrome might be studied within the framework of 'méconnaissance systématique' (translated here as systématic unawareness), thus anticipating a type of interpretation in which the basis of CS (and other delusional misidentification syndromes) would be a lack of corporeal and/or egocentric space awareness. From two examples, it is suggested that the basic phenomenon of unawareness may be due to sensory deprivation. A particular process of awareness concerning personal objects is hypothesized which would explain the specific delusion of reduplication that occurs when these objects are misidentified.