Joseph Capgras

This article is about the psychiatrist. For the mental condition, see Capgras delusion.

Jean Marie Joseph Capgras (23 August 1873 – 27 January 1950) was a French psychiatrist who is best known for the Capgras delusion, a disorder he discovered.

Joseph Capgras
Born	(1873-08-23)23 August 1873 Verdun-sur-Garonne, France
Died	27 January 1950(1950-01-27) (aged 76) Paris, France
Known for	Discovery of and research on the Capgras delusion
Scientific career
Fields	Medicine Psychiatry

He received his medical degree in Toulouse, later working in several mental institutions in France, although these duties were interrupted by the Great War. In 1929-1936, he was associated with Hôpital Sainte-Anne where he remained until his retierment.^[1][2]

With his mentor, Paul Sérieux (1864–1947), he contributed on psychiatric publications such as Les Folies raisonnantes (1909) ("The Reasoning of Follies)"^[3]) and Les Psychoses à base d'interprétations délirantes (1902) (“Psychoses Based on Delusional Interpretations”).^[4] With Sérieux, he described a type of non-schizophrenic, paranoid psychosis referred to as Delerium of Interpretation with Serieux and Capgras^[5].

Capgras delusion was described in 1923 in a study published by Capgras and his intern Jean Reboul-Lachaux, titled L'illusion des "sosies" (the illusion of doubles^[6]) dans un délire systématisé chronique. This disorder is defined as a delusion that a close relative or friend has been replaced by an impostor. In 1931 Capgras was appointed the president of the Société Médico-Psychologique (The Medical-Psychological Society) for his case studies and journal articles. While in this role, he was able to reunite two branches that had separated 25 years earlier.^[7]