Intermetamorphosis is a delusional misidentification syndrome, related to agnosia. The main symptoms consist of patients believing that they can see others change into someone else in both external appearance and internal personality. The disorder is usually comorbid with neurological disorders or mental disorders. The disorder was first described in 1932 by Paul Courbon (1879–1958), a French psychiatrist. Intermetamorphosis is rare, although issues with diagnostics and comorbidity may lead to under-reporting.
Signs and symptoms
Individuals experiencing intermetamorphosis, as well as the other delusional misidentification syndromes (DMS), tend to misidentify those people that are both physically and emotionally close to them; the most commonly misidentified people are parents, siblings and spouses. There are instances of individuals misidentifying people not known to them; however, they still held an affective importance, such as celebrities or politicians. In several case studies, individuals with misidentification syndromes acted aggressively towards the object of misidentification, which has the potential for criminal behavior. These theories typically involve a psychotic resolution towards an individual's feelings of intense ambivalence about the misidentified object. Occasionally, antidepressants and lithium have been used, especially in the instance of a co-occurring mood or bipolar disorder.