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Delusional companion syndrome

Belief that familiar objects are sentient beings

Summary

Belief that familiar objects are sentient beings

Delusional companion syndrome is considered a neuropathology of the self, specifically a delusional misidentification syndrome. Affected individuals believe certain non-living objects possess consciousness and can think independently and feel emotion. The psychosis must coexist with a detectable brain pathology for delusional companion syndrome to be diagnosed. The syndrome is most often identified in patients who suffer from damage to the brain due to physical trauma, neuronal degeneration or developmental abnormalities. Especially in the latter case, patients also tend to present with many other symptoms and are diagnosed as having other established conditions. Comforting objects like cuddly toys are often the focus of delusion.

Causes

Delusional companion syndrome can be caused by acute injury or chronic disease. The following are known to have been direct causes:

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Stroke
  • Head trauma

Neuropathology

Little detail is known about the specific causes of delusional companion syndrome. It is thought that damage to the neocortex may be the direct cause of this psychosis. Shanks and Venneri (2002) found unique and abnormal blood flow centred in the right parietal lobe of three patients with Alzheimer's disease. Severe processing deficits were found in brain areas responsible for visuospatial and visuoperceptive information, whereas memory and language abilities were preserved relatively well.

References

References

  1. Feinberg, Todd. (2010). "Neuropathologies of the Self: A General Theory.". Neuropsychoanalysis.
  2. Adamo, Simonetta. (1 November 2004). "An adolescent and his imaginary companions: from quasi-delusional constructs to creative imagination". Journal of Child Psychotherapy.
  3. Shanks, MF. (Nov 2002). "The emergence of delusional companions in Alzheimer's disease: an unusual misidentification syndrome.". Cognitive Neuropsychiatry.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

psychosis delusional-disorders delusions
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