Capgras Is Frequently Found Alongside Dementia

The Impostor In Those Cases Is Typically A Single Spouse

With Psychotic Disorders Several Other People Are Often Involved

Researchers At The Mayo Clinic Found That Pattern In Their Records

One Man With Lewy Body Dementia Called His Wife An Impostor

Researchers Tested How Well He Could Still Recognize People

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OKAY BACK FROM THE NURSING HOME 🏠

A 79 Year Old Man Began Seeing Things In His Living Room Chandelier

Once It Was A Raging Dog

Another Time It Was A Woman's Face

He Had Lewy Body Dementia And Had Been Married For 28 Years

Researchers In Canada Called Him JH

About Three Months Before Testing His Wife Noticed Something New

He Said She Was Not The Person She Claimed To Be

To Him She Only Looked Similar To His Wife

It Kept Happening With Considerable Frequency

His Wedding Band Did Not Change His Mind

Neither Did Their Wedding Photograph

During One Early Episode Their Son Was In The Room

JH Asked His Son How He Could Be So Sure This Was His Mother

At Times He Tried To Find His True Wife

The Episodes Came Most Often Around Falling Asleep And Waking Up

Afterward He Did Not Seem To Remember Them

He Also Misidentified His Own Home At Times

Between Episodes He Told Researchers She Never Feels The Same

An Australian Team Reviewed The Records Of 116 Dementia Patients

They Were Looking For Misidentification Of Any Kind

That Included Mistaking People And Reflections And Television

Overall 35 Percent Had Some Form Of Misidentification

That Figure Covers Every Type Together And Not Capgras Alone

Misidentification Was Closely Linked To Accusatory Behavior

The Authors Said Age And Stage Of Illness Confounded That Link

A Hospital In Japan Later Looked At Two Of These Signs

One Is The Mirror Sign

A Person With It Cannot Recognize Their Own Reflection

Some Authors Call It Capgras Syndrome For The Mirror Image

Researchers There Studied 200 People With Alzheimer's

They Also Studied 200 People With Lewy Body Dementia

Mirror Sign Rates Were 3.0 Percent In The Alzheimer's Group

Among Lewy Body Patients It Was 4.5 Percent

With The TV Sign People Treat Television Characters As Real

It Was 1.5 Percent For Alzheimer's And 4.0 Percent For Lewy Body

Both Signs Were Rare Even In Advanced Dementia

In Belgium Researchers Scanned One Alzheimer's Patient With Capgras

The Scan Measured How Much Energy Different Brain Areas Were Using

They Compared That Patient With 24 Healthy Older Adults

The Second Group Was 26 Alzheimer's Patients Without Delusions

That Patient Showed Low Activity In Frontal And Rear Midline Areas

The Authors Linked One Rear Area To Recognizing A Familiar Face

A Frontal Area Was Tied To Thinking About A Face's Personal Meaning

They Wrote That Capgras In Their Patient May Be Related To Both

Back In Canada The Team Tested How Well JH Recognized People

Many Theories Assume Recognition Stays Intact In Capgras

Researchers Had Called Capgras The Mirror Image Of Face Blindness

JH Was Compared With A Lewy Body Patient Who Did Not Have Capgras

Faces And Voices Both Gave JH Trouble With Recognition

Names Alone Did Not Cause Him The Same Trouble

The Other Patient Did Not Have Those Problems

JH Also Struggled To Judge How Intense A Facial Emotion Was

The Authors Doubted That Recognition Stays Intact In Capgras

They Said A Weak Skin Reaction Could Still Play A Part