Patient AM is recovering from a stroke in a hospital in Berlin, Germany.The patient has no history of mental illness, but insists that she is actually in a hospital in her hometown of Manchester, England.When asked as to why all the doctors and staff are speaking German, patient AM cannot explain it, but is insistent that she is in England.Your diagnosis?
A)Alzheimer's disease
B)schizophrenia
C)short-term memory amnesia
D)reduplicative paramnesia

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The patient's belief that she is in her hometown despite evidence to the contrary is a classic symptom of reduplicative paramnesia. This is a rare phenomenon where the patient believes that a place or location has been duplicated or replicated, and can occur after brain damage or injury, such as a stroke. The patient's lack of history of mental illness also supports this diagnosis over options A and B. Option C is incorrect as memory amnesia does not explain the patient's specific delusion.

Patient AM Is Recovering from a Stroke in a Hospital