Anatomical and psychological mechanism of reduplicative misidentification syndromes.
Reduplicative misidentifications syndromes (RMS) are rare memory disorders characterized by the subjective conviction that a place, person or event is duplicated. Even if RMS often follow a right frontal lesion, several studies have stressed the importance of bilateral hemispheric pathology. Moreover, from a psychological perspective, there is uncertainty if this symptom should be considered just as a kind of confabulation or if it should be associated with personal psychosocial and behavioral aspects. We report a patient who developed normal pressure hydrocephalus and RMS one year after a post-traumatic right frontal lesion. At the first neuropsychological evaluation, we found mild impairment of all functions, associated with the presence of reduplicative paramnesia. After the ventricle-peritoneal shunt intervention, we observed a progressive improvement of all functions but the frontal ones. The memory deficit became less specific and the RMS disappeared. We therefore postulate that a focal right frontal lesion is not sufficient to cause RMS per se. Our clinical report suggests that paramnesic events held on reasonable ground, not being just a kind of confabulation.
Pisani
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A
Neuropsychological Unit, Institute of Neurology, Catholic University, Largo A. Gemelli 8, I-00168 Rome, Italy.
Marra
C
C
Silveri
M C
MC
D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006850:Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*