Capgras syndrome, according to some experts, is caused by a problem with the brain, such as atrophy, lesions, or cerebral malfunction. Some experts say it's a combination of physical and cognitive changes, with feelings of disconnection playing a role.
At one point, people employed Freudian explanations to do with various Oedipal complexes. However, the work of Ramchandran and other neurologists revealed the underlying neuroanatomical reasons for the Capgras delusion.
Here is a basic summary:
The visual centers of the brain occipital lobe etc are connected via neuronal networks to the emotional centers of the brain-limbic system. When we see someone with whom we feel a connection - a mother, or father the emotional centers activate triggered by the visual stimulus.
If these connections are severed via chemical or neurodegenerative processes, the only way the mind can explain this lack of emotional connection is to assume that the person or family member they are seeing has been replaced by an imposter. If a family member phones the patient, everything is fine and the Capgras isn't activated. It's only when the patient with Capgras sees a family member, the emotional response isn't there and the delusion begins.
There are many other types of visual agnosias, ones in which people have no memory for faces - prospagnosia or Fregoli syndrome.
Hi @ayesha, really you might say it's both. Or rather being a neuropsychological disorder, it's a disorder of brain structure that leads to a psychological delusion.
Thank you so much for your great explanation!
Capgras syndrome, according to some experts, is caused by a problem with the brain, such as atrophy, lesions, or cerebral malfunction. Some experts say it's a combination of physical and cognitive changes, with feelings of disconnection playing a role.
At one point, people employed Freudian explanations to do with various Oedipal complexes. However, the work of Ramchandran and other neurologists revealed the underlying neuroanatomical reasons for the Capgras delusion.
Here is a basic summary:
The visual centers of the brain occipital lobe etc are connected via neuronal networks to the emotional centers of the brain-limbic system. When we see someone with whom we feel a connection - a mother, or father the emotional centers activate triggered by the visual stimulus.
If these connections are severed via chemical or neurodegenerative processes, the only way the mind can explain this lack of emotional connection is to assume that the person or family member they are seeing has been replaced by an imposter. If a family member phones the patient, everything is fine and the Capgras isn't activated. It's only when the patient with Capgras sees a family member, the emotional response isn't there and the delusion begins.
There are many other types of visual agnosias, ones in which people have no memory for faces - prospagnosia or Fregoli syndrome.
More info here:
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/10/imposter