Event Abstract

Neuropsychological Assessment of Delusional Disorder (DSM-IV)

  • 1 Université du Québec à Montréal, Institut de Sciences Cognitives and Département de Psychologie, Canada

Capgras delusion is often explained by right frontal lobe dysfunction. It is not clear at present whether only perceptual-paramnesic delusions like Capgras delusion result more often from right than left hemisphere lesions. Post lesion cases of delusional disorder (DD, DSM-IV) have never been reviewed. In light of the functional imaging and topographic EEG literatures on delusion, we hypothesized that DD would be better explained by the lesion side than the specific frontal lobe impairment. We reviewed and quantitatively analyzed 37 previously published cases of post unilateral lesion DD (DSM-IV type, namely of grandeur, persecution, jealousy, romantic conquest, or somatic). Seventy three percent of the cases (Chi2 = 7.8, p = .005) had a right hemisphere lesion, and only 10 (27 %) had a frontal lesion. We propose that left hemisphere release (due to a right hemisphere lesion anywhere in the brain) would be a better explanation of DD than right hemisphere impairment. The frontal lesion site was no more prevalent in DD than in large case series reviews of focal lesion not selected for delusion. Finally, since there were only two cases among the 37 patients with somatic delusion, perceptual distortion does not explain the right hemisphere lesion prevalence.

Conference: The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes, Toronto, Canada, 22 Mar - 26 Mar, 2010.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Psychiatric

Citation: Bolduc M, Braun C and Suffren S (2010). Neuropsychological Assessment of Delusional Disorder (DSM-IV). Conference Abstract: The 20th Annual Rotman Research Institute Conference, The frontal lobes. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.14.00147

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Received: 01 Jul 2010; Published Online: 01 Jul 2010.

* Correspondence: C M J Braun, Université du Québec à Montréal, Institut de Sciences Cognitives and Département de Psychologie, Montréal, Canada, Braun.claude@uqam.ca