Pareidolias in obsessive-compulsive disorder: neglected symptoms that may respond to serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
BACKGROUND
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a multifaceted and treatable condition. We describe a patient with OCD whose main complaint was the experience of pareidolias (i.e., 'images seen out of shapes'), a symptom that responded to treatment with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor.


METHODS
Single case report.


RESULTS
Mrs A, a 38-year-old married white woman with a history of OCD, reported visualizing faces of witches and gorillas out of floor tiles. She would see these figures without making any effort, and despite the intense discomfort associated with it, was unable to dismiss the images. Her symptoms responded to a therapeutic trial with clomipramine.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients presenting typical pareidolias need to be probed for underlying OCD. This approach may have material impact on treatment decisions, with good response of the aforementioned condition to serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Anxiety and Depression Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil. lfontenelle@gmail.com
Leonardo F
LF
Fontenelle
D000328:Adult; D002997:Clomipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
D002997:Clomipramine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors