Fregoli Symptom

Fregoli symptom, or Fregoli syndrome, is a visual disorder in which the faces of other people, surrounding objects and objects that are in a person’s field of vision are distorted. The syndrome was first described in 1904 by Italian actor Luigi Fregoli. The name of the disease was in his honor.

Fregoli (or autokinetic) symptom is a phenomenon where a person thinks that objects around them are moving or changing, even when in fact this is not happening. This condition can occur both in healthy people and in patients with various mental and neurological diseases, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression, and alcohol addiction.

The first detailed description of this phenomenon was made at the beginning of the 20th century by the Italian actor Luigi Fregoli. He observed his visual hallucinations that occurred during epileptic seizures and came to the conclusion that objects around him were moving in unpredictable directions. It was later found that a similar effect is observed in many mental disorders and even occurs in healthy people.

The main cause of Fregoli's symptom is a disruption of the normal perception of space and objects around a person. At the same time, the brain produces distorted ideas about the world, which leads to such manifestations. In some cases, such symptoms may be associated with disturbances in the functioning of the visual cortex of the brain, which occur with traumatic brain injuries, diseases of the head and neck, as well as with systemic atrophy or aging.

Fregoli symptoms can manifest either periodically or persistently. In some cases, the illusion may be limited to the movement of objects in space,

There are many different perception disorders and body dysmorphic disorders, but many of them cannot be recognized without the help of a psychiatrist. But what is body dysmorphic depression and Fregoli syndrome? What kind of disorder is this, why does it occur and how to deal with it?

Bodysmorphic disorder affects about 6-7% of the world's population. And this number, by the way, is growing every year. Typically, people with this diagnosis rarely turn to a psychologist or psychiatrist, because they often believe that they do not need the services of “narrow specialists.” I would like to show how important it is to find the problem and deal with it as soon as possible and not wait until you are desperate about your appearance.

People with a fear of “inadequacy” may experience problems in all areas of life, however, the main source of negative impact on life activities is isolation and closedness. In addition, according to researchers, people often underestimate these symptoms, considering them a “false” sensation.