Infidelity and the Capgras Delusion

Remembering back to a fascinating case study described in the June 2008 issue of Clinical Neurophysiology.  The study concerns a patient who presented visual hallucinations and identification disorders associated with a Capgras syndrome. During his Capgras episodes, the patient not only misidentified his wife's face, but also perceived her as being an entirely different sexual partner. He then had sexual intercourse with his wife's "double" without having the slightest recollection of any familiarity with her and even changed his sexual habits. According to the authors, he is the only known neurological patient that made his wife a mistress. In discussing the case, the authors discuss the mechanism of Capgras delusion with reference to the processes involved in face recognition. The complete loss of familiarity not only with the face but also with all aspects of sexual intimacy suggests a specific disconnection between the neural pathways linked to face identification and the systems involved in emotional and episodic memory.

Click here for the abstract.