Cotard's Syndrome

Introduction: historical aspects and classification

Cotard's syndrome is named after Jules Cotard (1840–1889), a French neurologist who described this condition for the first time in 1880, in a case report of a 43-year-old woman.

 

ABSTRACT

Cotard's syndrome is characterized by nihilistic delusions focused on the individual's body including loss of body parts, being dead, or not existing at all. The syndrome as such is neither mentioned in DSM-IV-TR nor in ICD-10. There is growing unanimity that Cotard's syndrome with its typical nihilistic delusions externalizes an underlying disorder. Despite the fact that Cotard's syndrome is not a diagnostic entity in our current classification systems, recognition of the syndrome and a specific approach toward the patient is mandatory.

This paper overviews the historical aspects, clinical characteristics, classification, epidemiology, and etiological issues and includes recent views on pathogenesis and neuroimaging. A short overview of treatment options will be discussed.

Keywords

Cotard's syndrome, nihilistic delusion, misidentification syndrome, review