To be or not to be at home? A neuropsychological approach to delusion for place.
A woman, LB, while in recovery from a viral encephalitis, exhibited a delusion for place, which led her to insist that she was at home, in spite of compelling evidence to the contrary. Later, she developed a Capgras syndrome, that is, another misidentification syndrome. The patient was given a detailed neuropsychological evaluation to shed light on the mechanisms underlying her delusional misbelief. Two main deficits were in evidence: (1) a severe visual-spatial impairment, giving the patient a distorted perception of her surroundings; and (2) frontal lobe dysfunction, which played a critical role in her impulsive responses and lack of self-awareness. The pathogenesis of delusion for place and persons if discussed in light of these observations.
Sellal
F
F
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal, Canada.
Fontaine
S F
SF
van der Linden
M
M
Rainville
C
C
Labrecque
R
R
D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002194:Capgras Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003702:Delusions / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D010469:Perceptual Distortion / Q000502:physiology; D012931:Social Environment; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed