F. Sellal et al., TO BE OR NOT TO BE AT, HOME - A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO DELUSION FOR PLACE, Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section A, Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 18(2), 1996, pp. 234-248
A woman, LB, while in recovery from a viral encephalitis, exhibited a
delusion for place, which led her to insist that she was at home, in s
pite of compelling evidence to the contrary. Later, she developed a Ca
pgras syndrome, that is, another misidentification syndrome. The patie
nt was given a detailed neuropsychological evaluation to shed some lig
ht on the mechanisms underlying her delusional misbelief. Two main def
icits were in evidence: (1) a severe visual-spatial impairment, giving
the patient a distorted perception of her surroundings; and (2) front
al lobe dysfunction, which played a critical role in her impulsive res
ponses and lack of self-awareness. The pathogenesis of delusion for pl
ace and persons is discussed in light of these observations.