A 22 year old man is admitted to hospital experiencing his first psychotic episode. He describes an event that took place when he was 6 years old and he was injected by a doctor with a radioactive element so that the government could track his movements. Which of the following is suggested?
Exam Question Jul 2014
Delusional memory is a primary delusion.
Strictly speaking some might argue that this is a delusional perception (the normal perception of the doctor administering an injection, followed by a delusional interpretation). It is often difficult to separate the two unless the recalled memory is clearly delusional (e.g. if the patient recalled being taken to Mars by Aliens and having his personality reprogrammed). For this reason, we did not include delusional perception in the list of options.
Capgras syndrome refers to the belief that someone known to the person has been replaced by an imposter who is pretending to be that person.
Ekboms syndrome refers to a delusional belief that a person has been infested (usually with small microscopic organisms).
Ekboms syndrome14%Secondary delusion21%Capgras syndrome21%Delusional memory22%Delusional atmosphere22%
Exam Question Jul 2014
Delusional memory is a primary delusion.
Strictly speaking some might argue that this is a delusional perception (the normal perception of the doctor administering an injection, followed by a delusional interpretation). It is often difficult to separate the two unless the recalled memory is clearly delusional (e.g. if the patient recalled being taken to Mars by Aliens and having his personality reprogrammed). For this reason, we did not include delusional perception in the list of options.
Capgras syndrome refers to the belief that someone known to the person has been replaced by an imposter who is pretending to be that person.
Ekboms syndrome refers to a delusional belief that a person has been infested (usually with small microscopic organisms).
Delusions (primary and secondary)
A primary delusion is one that arises spontaneously, from normal psychological processes and not as a consequence of psychopathology.
A secondary delusion develops as a consequence of an abnormal experience.
For instance, if a delusion arises following a patient's experience of auditory hallucinations it is classed as secondary.
Types of primary delusion include:-
- Delusional perception - A normal perception followed by a delusional interpretation
- Delusional memory - The recollection of an event or idea that is clearly delusional in nature
- Delusional mood - Delusion arising from a strange mood
- Autochthonous delusion - A delusion that appears out of the blue (spontaneously), i.e. not following a perception, memory or mood
The following Royal College document is worth a read.
The description of primary delusions:confusion in standard texts and among clinicians, Psychiatric Bulletin (1997).
