Delusional belief about location ("reduplicative paramnesia")

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Patients with neurological conditions like stroke or head injury may experience delusional beliefs.
• Reduplicative paramnesia, now termed location delusion, is a specific belief of being elsewhere, often at home.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the characteristics of location delusions in hospitalized patients.
• To propose a motivational explanation for the development of location delusions.

Main Methods:

• A literature search identified 112 published cases of location delusion since 1903.
• Analysis of case studies to identify specific delusional beliefs and their underlying mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Identified eight specific forms of location delusion, often involving mislocation of the hospital.
• Proposed a two-factor motivational theory: a wish for a congenial environment leads to a hypothesis, which is maintained due to impaired evaluation.

Conclusions:

• The two-factor theory, previously applied to neuropsychological delusions, can also explain delusions influenced by motivational factors.
• Location delusion arises from a desire for a more comfortable setting combined with cognitive deficits in hypothesis testing.