- Frégoli's phenomenon
- Also referred to as Frégoli's syndrome, Frégoli syndrome, and Frégoli's illusion. All four eponyms are used to denote a * misidentification syndrome characterized by the conviction that a certain individual can take on the physical features of other individuals, and that he or she may thus appear as a family member, a neighbour, a stranger in the street, a doctor, etc. The syndrome has been designated as resulting from a form of hyperidentification or over-personalization. The eponym Frégoli's phenomenon refers to the Italian actor Léopoldo Frégoli (1867-1936), who reportedly had an unusual talent for impersonating widely differing characters. It was introduced in 1927 by the French psychiatrists Paul Courbon (1879-1958) and G. Fail. The expression Frégoli syndrome for place is used to denote a condition in which the affected individual's current environment (such as a hospital) is misidentified as a different place (such as one's home or one's place of birth). In the older literature the latter condition is sometimes referred to as reduplicative paramnesia. Pathophysiologically, Frégoli's phenomenon is associated primarily with lesions affecting the right frontal lobe, although different locations have been reported as well. Conceptually as well as phenomenologically, Frégoli's phenomenon is related to the *intermetamorphosis syndrome, which is characterized by the conviction that particular individuals have been transformed -with respect to their physical appearance as well as their personality traits - into other people.ReferencesCourbon, P., Fail, G. (1927). Syndrome d'illusion de Frégoli et schizophrénie. Bulletin de la Société de Médecine Mentale, 15, 121-125.Ellis, H.D., Whitley, J., Luauté, J.-P. (1994). Delusional misidentification. The three original papers on the Capgras, Frégoli and intermeta-morphosis delusions. (Classic Text No. 17). History of Psychiatry, 5, 117-146.Feinberg, T.E., Deluca, J., Giacino, J.T., Roane, D.M., Solms, M. (2005). Right-hemisphere pathology and the self: Delusional misidenti-fication and reduplication. In: The lost self. Pathologies ofthe brain and identity. Edited by Feinberg, T.E., Keenan, J.P. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dictionary of Hallucinations. J.D. Blom. 2010.