Definition and significance of Capgras syndrome in modern psychiatry. Description of the leading symptoms of this disease. Diagnostic methods, as well as methods and types of medical care for patients. Capgras syndrome is a mental illness of a person in which his ability to identify others or himself is impaired. As a result of such a violation, the patient convinces his acquaintances that they have a double, with whom he often sees and meets. Also, people can attribute the existence of a second fictional self and accuse him of committing some actions. A similar syndrome was first described in 1923 by a psychiatrist in France under the name "double illusion", but after some research it was renamed in honor of the same scientist - Joseph Capgras.
The main causes of the development of Capgras syndrome
Since the appearance of such a pathology, many scientists have tried to establish the true cause of its occurrence. Many factors have been identified that can in any way adversely affect a person's mental health, but there is still no single conclusion. The opinions of researchers differed in search of the initial cause of the disease, but nevertheless, by common efforts, several conditions were identified that more often than others lead to its development in humans. They all have a common point of application for harm - the visual cortex, which is responsible for recognizing faces.
Exogenous causes of Capgras syndrome
This category of reasons includes factors associated with an external damaging effect on the human body. Such an impact does not always lead to the development of a similar syndrome and refers to the pathology of internal organs.
In the future, the following conditions may manifest themselves in the form of this violation:
- Traumatic injury … When receiving damage that can in any way touch the occipital region of the cerebral cortex, very often there may be an impetus for the occurrence of such a pathology. This can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, age and emotional state. Violations that occur during injury are manifested in the form of the loss of this area of its main function. As a result, almost immediately after a fall or impact, a person already shows the first symptoms.
- Neurosurgical intervention … It sometimes happens that mentally healthy people acquire twin syndrome in the postoperative period. The fact is that human neural connections are a structure of an extremely fine organization and very poorly perceive any outside interference. Therefore, it is often after such manipulations that a failure occurs in the transmission of impulses, there are any structural disorders, which in the future can lead to the development of this pathology.
- Stroke … It occurs mainly in old age and yet more often in men. This pathology implies an insufficient supply of brain cells with oxygen, which occurs acutely. As a result, the latter die and lose the ability to perform their functions. If such a lesion touches the above-mentioned area of the cortex, then it may well lead to impaired identification and perception.
- Hemorrhage … A cause that may be the result of traumatic injury, hemorrhagic stroke, ruptured aneurysm, systemic vasculitis and many other conditions. The blood, which for one reason or another left its channel, moves freely. As a result, it fills various spaces, among which there may also be the occipital region. The result is the destruction of neurons and their connections. It is because of their inconsistency that the processes that are involved in Capgras syndrome are disrupted.
Endogenous causes of Capgras syndrome
Problems of this type include pathological conditions, the action of which is initially aimed at worsening the emotional and mental health of people from the inside. Therefore, from the very beginning, their main features will be behavioral and thinking disorders.
Among the most common reasons for this category are:
- Alcoholism … A factor that is often overlooked due to its prevalence may be the only serious cause of the disease. This happens in most cases only with deep and advanced stages. Due to the excessive consumption of alcohol, its toxicity to the body exceeds all possible limits. The accumulation of harmful products of its oxidation in cerebral cells not only disrupts their function, but also leads to their death.
- Schizophrenia … The manifestations of this disease are very closely related to twin syndrome. The presence of a paranoid component in it can also cause a violation of personal identification. That is why both pathologies are often confused or combined into one whole. The problem is that one of the consequences of the delirium in schizophrenia may be Capgras disease, which requires special care and a special approach to therapy.
- Age changes … After a certain period of time, the human body loses many properties and functions. All structures of the brain are exposed to this action. The prevalence of aging processes makes people vulnerable to the action of any damaging factor. They can also accumulate many harmful substances, which often have an adverse effect in the form of violations of a different nature.
The main forms of Capgras syndrome
The described syndrome continues to be an interesting find for writing many scientific works in psychiatry and medicine in general. Dozens of studies are being carried out aimed at the differential diagnosis of the disease from other pathologies. In the process of the work done, several different variants of its classification were described.
The presented syndrome can manifest itself as two completely different diseases. To establish the correct diagnosis, it is necessary to very accurately study the existing problem and understand what subtype it belongs to. In view of how exactly the patient describes an imaginary double, the following types are presented:
- Visible double … This type of pathology is characterized by the reality of a fictional character. In this case, the patient will claim that he exists not only in his imagination, but in real life too. The person will also try to show the person, touch it and at the same time can very realistically describe his feelings. That is why it will be very simple and easy to find out about such a state. After all, people literally fall into aggression, trying to get everyone around to notice the double.
- Invisible … With this type of disease, a person often tries to hide his ideas about this. The first symptoms can appear only when the patient begins to ascribe the commission of any deeds to the double. It will no longer be possible to confirm its existence in real time, but the patient does it by stating the work he has done. It doesn't matter at all whether it is good or bad. People claim that it was a fictional person who made it, and will try to convince everyone else of this.
Depending on to whom the patient refers to the existence of a double, the following types of disease are distinguished:
- Personal … This type of disease is characterized by the fact that a person is confident in the presence of a second self. He is able to describe it and assert existence in real time and space. In this situation, people talk about the deeds committed by their counterparts, and not by them with their own hands. The disease often resembles a split personality, but in this case, there are two completely different people. The only thing that unites them is their external similarity.
- Surrounding … In this situation, the patient's personality remains completely preserved. He does not apply any of the manifestations of the disease to himself, because he sees pathology in another person. The patient claims that one of his relatives, acquaintances or close ones has a copy. They can talk about seeing her, communicating with her. In some cases, people become addicted to this idea and try to warn acquaintances about the existence of some kind of backup.
- Animal … As strange as it may sound, cases of Capgras syndrome in relation to animals have been described. People who had pets could confidently assure others that they had a copy. Some patients are able to live in the company of two dogs or cats for quite a long time. They were very pleased with such a variety, and only relatives of the person reported deviations.
Note! Sometimes the symptomatology of the disease can be applied not to one character, but to several family members or friends at once.
Manifestations of Capgras syndrome in humans
Signs of this pathology can last from a couple of days to several weeks. This variety depends on the type of the original cause and whether it is eliminated after the development of the syndrome. Each manifestation, to one degree or another, helps the specialist to establish the correct diagnosis. Some signs are attributed to the main, others - to the auxiliary. But for an accurate definition of pathology, one of them cannot be dispensed with.
Among the main symptoms of Capgras syndrome are the following:
- Complicated anamnesis … This category includes all health problems that have ever bothered the person himself, and the presence of relatives with similar mental disabilities. The first point is to pay attention to the childhood period of life. It is very important to find out what the patient was like at a young age, to learn about his problem periods of life and unhappy love. It is also important that someone from the closest ancestry has mental disorders. It is believed that such genetic links can play a huge role in the development of the disease and, accordingly, indicate its presence.
- Suspicion … A person with the presented syndrome is called strange by others. The fact is that he has a special interested gaze, inconstancy. Behaves fussy, looks out for any offense or strange action in his acquaintances. Such people can resort to surveillance, spend a lot of time looking out of the window, expect the appearance of incomprehensible personalities. It constantly seems to them that everything is not so around, and everyone who comes across is suspected of this.
- Delusional conversations … It happens that the disease begins to manifest itself in the patient's crazy fantasies. For the first time, as a rule, they are noticed by the closest people. It is with them that he can share his reflections on the strangeness around. It will be about the possible substitution of people, the presence of some kind of doubles and conspiracies against them. Many do not pay attention to such statements from friends, but some from this moment begin to understand the seriousness of the situation.
- Identity problems … This symptom is considered the most reliable manifestation of the syndrome. Its essence lies in the fact that a young or middle-aged person cannot identify people he knows. Initially, he himself will somehow hide his misunderstanding and try not to tell anyone about his thoughts. With a gradual deterioration of his condition, it will come to the point that the patient will very sharply reject meetings and conversations with his previously familiar environment. Because of his lack of confidence in who is in front of him now, he cannot behave freely with them.
- Aggressiveness … Sometimes there are cases in which patients do not have friends who can help them. Moreover, they behave towards them very harshly and derisively. Such a reaction from the environment can not only leave the patient alone with his problem, but also force him to defend his opinion on this matter. Sometimes similar situations lead to anger, aggression and inappropriate behavior.
- Cowardice … At the very beginning of the disease, the obsessions in the head of a person terrify him. He cannot feel safe anywhere. The constant feeling of having a double makes people always be on the alert and expect it to appear. Because of this, there is a feeling of fear, insecurity, fear of loved ones, who may not be at all who they say they are.
Features of the treatment of Capgras syndrome
Modern doctors try to prevent Capgras syndrome in psychiatry. But in case he does appear in a person's life, there are many ways of therapy. It is worth saying that this pathology responds well to treatment, although it requires special attention and close monitoring. The main principle is to combine different methods to speed up the final result.
Psychological help
The first and most important guideline in the choice of any therapy is the patient's consent to its use. After all, only then will it be possible to hope for a complete recovery. The main goal of psychotherapy is to establish contact with the patient. Sometimes only at this moment the first few sessions are gone. But only when this goal is achieved can a positive result be achieved.
Among all the options for this therapy, the following are most commonly used:
- Reframing … This is the name for a completely new method of providing psychological assistance. Its purpose is to change a person's mind. Using this method, experts are trying to convince the patient of the incorrectness of his thoughts. They do this either by bringing the absurdity of his story, or by proving the complete impossibility of the existence of fictional doubles.
- Reality testing … This method presents several psychological issues. All of them are veiled under completely simple tasks, and in order to answer them, you do not need to spend a lot of time thinking. Such a list is provided to the patient. After he answers them, the second part of the session begins. During it, the doctor analyzes the results obtained, telling the patient about them. This makes it possible to show a person all his problems and fears, as well as find a way to solve them.
Medicines for Capgras Syndrome
It is practically impossible to cure twin syndrome without the use of any drugs, because the reason for its appearance is hidden in organic brain damage. That is why it is necessary to use certain types of medications in order to eliminate its effects and return a person to normal life. The current standards of treatment provide not only a complex effect, but also the use of several types of medicines at once.
The following groups of drugs are called the most famous today:
- Antipsychotics … This class includes substances that, due to their indirect effect on receptors in neural connections, have the ability to inhibit the production of delirium. Already after the first intake of the drug, positive symptoms appear and the imaginary doubler disappears for a while.
- Antidepressants … Their use in this situation is aimed at calming the patient. A decrease in his activity, including with regard to a fictional double, quite often leads to positive results. Providing an additional sedative effect helps the patient to relax, eliminates anxiety and panic fear.
- Anticonvulsants … This type of drug has achieved widespread acceptance over the past few years. This happened because they are able to inhibit areas of increased activity in the cerebral cortex. In this case, it is the occipital region, which produces pathological symptoms. Taking these medications can last from ten days to several years, depending on the patient's condition.
Therapy for this disorder is carried out in courses due to the fact that he has a tendency to relapse. Therefore, the use of drugs is justified even during the period of remission.
What is reframing - watch the video:
Twin syndrome is not a common disease, but its manifestations can completely destroy a person's life. Despite the good reviews for treatment, today all doctors in the world are calling to fight this pathology even at the stage of prevention. That is why it is so important to monitor your emotional state and pay attention to the earliest signs of its change.
