Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28794897›Full record

ArticleBJPsych open2017

Uncovering Capgras delusion using a large-scale medical records database.

Vaughan Bell, Caryl Marshall, Zara Kanji, Sam Wilkinson, Peter Halligan, Quinton Deeley

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BJPsych open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 42 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Challenging the impostor: a scoping review of the pharmacological management of Capgras syndrome in Parkinson's disease and Lewy bodies dementia.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Article
  3. Serial killing in schizophrenia.Clinical case reports · 2022
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Vaughan Bell, PhD DClinPsy, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Caryl Marshall, MBBS MRCPsych, Lewisham Mental Health Learning Disabilities Team, Behavioural & Developmental, Psychiatry Clinical Academic Group, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Zara Kanji, MSc, Psychological Interventions Clinic for Outpatients with Psychosis, Maudsley Psychology Centre, Maudsley Hospital, London, UK.
Sam Wilkinson, PhD, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Peter Halligan, PhD DSc, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Quinton Deeley, PhD, MRCPsych, Cultural and Social Neuroscience Research Group, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust · GBCardiff University · GBMaudsley Hospital · GBPsychiatry Research Trust · GBUniversity of Edinburgh · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCapgras delusion is scientifically important but most commonly reported as single case studies. Studies analysing large clinical records databases focus on common disorders but none have investigated rare syndromes.

aimsIdentify cases of Capgras delusion and associated psychopathology, demographics, cognitive function and neuropathology in light of existing models.

methodCombined computational data extraction and qualitative classification using 250 000 case records from South London and Maudsley Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) database.

resultsWe identified 84 individuals and extracted diagnosis-matched comparison groups. Capgras was not 'monothematic' in the majority of cases. Most cases involved misidentified family members or close partners but others were misidentified in 25% of cases, contrary to dual-route face recognition models. Neuroimaging provided no evidence for predominantly right hemisphere damage. Individuals were ethnically diverse with a range of psychosis spectrum diagnoses.

conclusionsCapgras is more diverse than current models assume. Identification of rare syndromes complements existing 'big data' approaches in psychiatry. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS: V.B. is supported by a Wellcome Trust Seed Award in Science (200589/Z/16/Z) and the UCLH NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. S.W. is supported by a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (WT098455MA). Q.D. has received a grant from King's Health Partners. COPYRIGHT AND USAGE: © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license.

Identifiers

PMID28794897
PMCPMC5541249
OpenAlexW2743922175

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.