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The Capgras delusion: an integrated approach

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Abstract

Delusions are studied in two philosophical traditions: the continental or phenomenological tradition and the Anglo-American or analytic tradition. Each has its own view of delusions. Broadly stated, phenomenologists view delusions as a disturbed experience whilst most analytic researchers view them as beliefs. It is my contention that the most plausible account of delusions must ultimately incorporate valuable insights from both traditions. To illustrate the potential value of integration I provide a novel model of the Capgras delusion which describes how an analytic, cognitive neuropsychological two-factor account of the Capgras delusion and the phenomenological view of delusions might be integrated.

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Notes

  1. Jaspers defines personality as “the individually differing and characteristic totality of meaningful connections in any one psychic life” (Jaspers: 1963, 428).

  2. Affect generation: vmPFC, ventral striatum and pallidum, amygdala, ventral tegmental area, periaqueductal gray, insula and lateral PFC,meso-limbic and meso-cortical dopaminergic pathways.

    Self-Others: vmPFC, ventral striatum and pallidum, amygdala, ventral tegmental area, periaqueductal gray, insula and lateral PFC, lateral temporal lobe structures of the default mode network. (Poletti & Sambataro: 2103,1247)

  3. Some researchers suggest that what is encoded and fed forward is not the raw value but the difference between the raw values and the predicted values. This is obtained by subtracting the predicted values from the actual values. (e.g., Clark: 2012).

  4. Glutamate is one of the 20 amino acids, which has the additional function of acting as a neurotransmitter. Glutamate receptors are responsible for the glutamate-mediated postsynaptic excitation of neural cells, and are important for neural communication, memory formation, and learning. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) acts as an inhibitory transmitter.

  5. Glial cells are non-neuronal cells that supply support and protection for neurons. They modulate neurotransmissions, although the mechanism is not well understood. “The discovery of glial NMDA receptors further indicates the complex nature of intercellular signaling mechanisms in the brain,” (Verkhratsky and Kirchhoff: 2007, 28)

  6. The Capgras delusion is predominately defined as being specific to people (e.g., Bourget and Whitehurst: 2004; Brighetti et al. 2007; Coltheart: 2007; Dietl et al. 2003; Doran: 1990; Josephs: 2007; Tamam et al. 2003; Young: 2008), but some extend the syndrome to include inanimate objects such as household furniture (Ellis et al. 1996; Nejad and Toofani 2006) and animals, particularly pets (Ellis et al. 1996; Rosler et al. 2001). The impairment occurs most commonly during visual processing, although there are rare cases of auditory Capgras in both blind (Reid et al. 1993; Hermanowicz: 2002) and sighted (Lewis et al. 2001) patients, and haptic Capgras, cases in which patients claim their loved one does not feel (physically) the same when touched (Rojo et al. 1991; Ellis et al. 1996).

  7. I have encountered impostors in mythology, Shakespearian plays, operatic drama, stories of war and espionage, murder mysteries, science fiction and comedy, but to my knowledge, not one in real life.

  8. For example, there can be a radical difference between our attitude towards violence that occurs in films, cartoons and video games and our attitude to violence that occurs in reality.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the members of the CCD Belief Group at Macquarie University, Peter Menzies, Mitch Parsell and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

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Correspondence to Neralie Wise.

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Wise, N. The Capgras delusion: an integrated approach. Phenom Cogn Sci 15, 183–205 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-014-9410-y

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