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Planting a misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in a person's mind

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Harald Merckelbach ,
Marko Jelicic  and
Cees Jonker
Harald Merckelbach*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Marko Jelicic
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Cees Jonker
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry/Alzheimer Centre, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*
Dr Harald Merckelbach, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Tel: 043 3881945; Fax: 043-3884196; E-mail: H.Merckelbach@maastrichtuniversity.nl
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Extract

Objective: There is an extensive corpus of knowledge about how misinformation may distort autobiographical memories. A diagnostic error can be conceptualised as a form of misinformation.

Methods: The authors discuss the case of a 58-year-old woman who was given a misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Results: The patient was deeply convinced that the diagnosis was correct, even when she was confronted with contradictory evidence.

Conclusion: A diagnosis is not a neutral piece of information. It profoundly affects the lives of patients. The consequences of a misdiagnosis may be similar to persistent false memories.

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseasecognitionmemorystress
Type
Case Report
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 60 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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