FACE-PROCESSING IMPAIRMENTS AND THE CAPGRAS DELUSION

Investigations of two cases of the Capgras delusion found that both pa tients showed face-processing impairments encompassing identification of familiar faces, recognition of emotional facial expressions, and ma tching of unfamiliar faces. In neither case was there any impairment o f recognition memory for words. These findings are consistent with the idea that the basis of the Capgras delusion lies in damage to neuro-a natomical pathways responsible for appropriate emotional reactions to familiar visual stimuli. The delusion would then represent the patient 's attempt to make sense of the fact that these visual stimuli no long er have appropriate affective significance.