Fregoli syndrome is a rare delusional misidentification disorder where an individual believes that different people are, in fact, a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise. This condition leads the person to perceive strangers as familiar individuals, often with the belief that these familiar people are persecuting them.
The syndrome is named after Leopoldo Fregoli, an Italian actor renowned in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for his extraordinary ability to perform rapid character changes during his stage acts. His remarkable talent for swift transformations inspired the naming of this delusional condition, first described by French psychiatrists Courbon and Fail in 1927. They reported a case where a young woman believed she was being persecuted by two actors she frequently saw at the theater, imagining they took on the faces of people she knew or met.
Fregoli syndrome is part of a group known as delusional misidentification syndromes, which also includes Capgras syndrome and intermetamorphosis. We will talk about these syndromes in another video.
The exact causes of Fregoli syndrome are not fully understood, but it’s often associated with underlying neurological or psychiatric conditions. Schizophrenia is a common context in which Fregoli delusion occurs, but it has also been reported in mood disorders and organic brain syndromes. Some studies suggest that lesions in the right frontoparietal and adjacent regions of the brain may contribute to these misidentification delusions, indicating a neurological underpinning.
Cultural representations have also explored themes related to Fregoli syndrome. The 2015 animated film “Anomalisa,” directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, delves into the life of a man who perceives everyone around him as identical, both in face and voice, until he encounters someone who appears unique to him. While not a direct portrayal of Fregoli syndrome, the film captures the essence of perceptual distortion and the profound sense of isolation it can engender.