Misidentification phenomena in German psychiatry: a historical review and comparison with the French/English approach

First rank symptoms of schizophrenia: their nature and origin

Kurt Schneider's insight nearly 80 years ago that schizophrenia could be demarcated from other psychoses by a small set of particular delusions and hallucinations powerfully influenced diagnostic practice. The theoretical status of such 'first rank symptoms' as a whole, however, has rarely been addressed. But if they are sensitive and specific to the condition, it is about time that their essential nature and potential origin be considered. This is the purpose of the present paper. I argue that these psychopathological phenomena are indeed relatively sensitive and specific to the condition, that their nature can be formulated within a Schelerian model of what constitutes a human being, and that their origin fits anthropological and neuropsychological notions of the make-up of contemporary human beings.

Capgras-like syndrome in a patient with an acute urinary tract infection

Delusional misidentification syndromes are a group of delusional phenomena in which patients misidentify familiar persons, objects, or themselves, believing that they have been replaced or transformed. In 25%-40% of cases, misidentification syndromes have been reported in association with organic illness. We report an acute episode of Capgras-like delusion lasting 8 days, focused on the idea that people were robots with human bodies, in association with an acute urinary infection. To our knowledge, this is the first case report associating urinary tract infection with Capgras-like syndrome. Awareness of the prevalence of delusional misidentification syndromes associated with acute medical illness should promote diligence on the part of clinicians in recognizing this disorder.

Klaus Conrad (1905-1961): delusional mood, psychosis, and beginning schizophrenia

Klaus Conrad's major contribution to the phenomenology of psychosis focused on the patient's experiences during the prodromal and early psychotic phases of schizophrenia. The literature in English concerning his work is sparse, in part because Conrad's work contains complex concepts that lose much in translation. This communication attempts to clarify Conrad's thought, especially as it pertains to the role of mood and delusions in beginning psychosis and its underlying neurobiology.