The syndrome of subjective doubles is a rare delusional misidentification syndrome in which someone suffers from the delusion that he has a double or doppelgänger with the same appearance, usually with different character traits and leading a life of his own. Sometimes the patient had the idea that there are more than one double. The syndrome is usually the result of a neurological disorder, a mental disorder or some form of brain damage, particularly to the right cerebral hemisphere.

Another form the syndrome can have is the delusion that (a part of) the patient's personality has been moved into another person. In this case depersonalization may be a symptom. An example from medical literature is a man who became depersonalized after an operation and was convinced his brain was placed into someone else's head. He later claimed he recognized this person.

The syndrome is sometimes comorbid with Capgras delusion, leading to it to be named "subjective Capgras syndrome" in some instances.

See also

• Capgras delusion
• delusional misidentification syndrome

References

• Christodoulou GN (1978) Syndrome of subjective doubles. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135(2), 249-51.