Canary Capgras

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Back to table of contents Previous article Next article LetterFull AccessCanary CapgrasAlexander Rösler, M.D., , Geoffrey Holder, M.D., and Erich Seifritz, M.D., Alexander RöslerSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Department of Neurology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Germany, Geoffrey HolderSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., and Erich SeifritzSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., Psychiatric University Clinic, Kantonsspital Basel, SwitzerlandPublished Online:1 Aug 2001https://doi.org/10.1176/jnp.13.3.429AboutSectionsView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail SIR: Capgras syndrome has been defined as the delusional belief in the existence of “doubles” of significant people in a patient's life.1 We report the case of a socially isolated woman who felt her canary was replaced by a duplicate.Case ReportMrs. G., a 67-year-old woman, was admitted for the first time to a psychiatric hospital for late paraphrenia. On admission she reported delusions of impoverishment and the feeling of being sexually harassed by various men in public. She had been a widow for 11 years, had no children, and lived on her own with very few social contacts. Furthermore, she suffered from concerns that her canary was alone at home. She was delighted with the suggestion that the bird be transferred to the ward. However, during the first two days she repeatedly asserted that the canary in the cage was not her canary and reported that the bird looked exactly like her canary, but was in fact a duplicate. There were otherwise no misidentifications of persons or objects. The paranoid symptoms were rapidly controlled by 3 mg po haloperidol. A CT scan of the brain and an EEG revealed no abnormalities.CommentDelusions of substitutions of people and objects are well recognized in psychiatric illnesses.2 Capgras syndrome, first described by Capgras and Reboul-Lacheaux,3 is known to appear mainly in paranoid psychosis, as in the original description, or in organic brain syndromes including Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. There are, however, very few cases of Capgras syndrome involving animals.4 In Capgras syndrome, a key figure in the patient's life is believed to be replaced by a “double” or imposter. Usually the misidentification involves a person with whom the patient has an “intense affective sentiment.”1 Our patient had no close person in her own environment who fulfilled this role. Instead, her canary had become her closest living companion. Social isolation and loneliness in old age has long been regarded as a factor in the etiology of late paraphrenia.5 In the case of Mrs. G., the lack of personal contact in her social environment may have identified her pet canary as the focus for her delusion.References1 Berson RJ: Capgras syndrome. Am J Psychiatry 1983; 140:969-978Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar2 Kimura S: Review of 106 cases with the syndrome of Capgras. References of Psychiatry 1986; 164:121-130Google Scholar3 Capgras J, Reboul-Lacheaux J: L'illusion des “sosies” dans un délire systematisé chronique [Illusion of doubles in a chronic systematized delusion]. Bulletin de la Société Clinique de Médicine Mentale 1923; 11:6-16Google Scholar4 Somerfield D: Capgras syndrome and animals. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 1999; 14:892-894Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar5 Janzarik W: Über das Kontaktmangelparanoid des höheren Lebensalters und den Symptomcharakter schizophrenen Krankseins [Isolation paranoia and schizophrenic symptomatology in elderly persons]. Nervenartz 1973; 44:515-526Medline, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByWhat is Capgras delusion?10 December 2021 | Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Vol. 27, No. 1Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 2Neurocase, Vol. 22, No. 2 Volume 13Issue 3 August 2001Pages 429-429 Metrics History Published online 1 August 2001 Published in print 1 August 2001