An 84-year-old woman with moderate Alzheimer disease insists that her daughter has been replaced by an identical impostor. She recognises the face perfectly but feels it belongs to a stranger. Which syndrome is described?
- A Capgras syndrome ✓
- B Fregoli syndrome
- C Reduplicative paramnesia
- D Cotard syndrome
Correct answer: A. Capgras syndrome
Explanation
Capgras delusion is the misidentification belief that a familiar person has been replaced by an identical impostor, attributed to disconnection between intact facial recognition and the autonomic affective response to familiar faces. Fregoli is the opposite, where strangers are believed to be familiar people in disguise. Reduplicative paramnesia involves duplicated places, and Cotard involves nihilistic beliefs about oneself being dead.
Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 12th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.