Delusional misidentification

The Capgras syndrome and other delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS) generally have been associated with traditional psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia. It has become increasingly clear, however, that DMS commonly occurs in the context of both diffuse and focal central nervous system diseases. The right hemisphere, in particular, has been implicated in neuroanatomic and neuropsychologic studies of DMS. This article views DMS as a neuropsychiatric condition. The authors examine the evidence that this fascinating clinical entity can be attributed to localizable pathology in the brain.