The British man, identified only as Graham, woke up nine years ago utterly convinced that he was no longer alive even though he was still breathing.
Doctors diagnosed him with Cotard’s Syndrome, which is also known as ‘Walking Corpse Syndrome’ because it makes people think they have turned into zombies.
The unusual condition emerged after Graham, who suffered from severe depression, tried to commit suicide by taking an electrical appliance with him into the bath.
Eight months later he told doctors that his brain had died or was, at best, missing.
He lost interest in smoking, stopped speaking and refused to eat as there was "no point because I was dead"
He was in the grip of Cotard's syndrome. People with this rare condition believe that they, or parts of their body, no longer exist.
For Graham, it was his brain that was dead, and he believed that he had killed it.
In a new study in Cortex neuroscientists conducted sophisticated brain imaging (PET) studies on Graham, and discovered that large areas of his brain showed severely reduced activity usually seen only in patients who are anaesthetised or asleep. Graham’s ‘asleep’ brain areas encompassed a network of neurons in parts of the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes on both sides of the brain that have previously been associated in the healthy brain with conscious awareness, or the ability to think about ourselves, and ‘know’ ourselves as an independent being who has control over our own actions. The researchers, who included neurologists, did not believe Graham’s reduced brain function could be accounted for by his depression or by the medications he was taking, although these may have been factors.
Eventually, with psychotherapy and drugs, Graham recovered. Although he says he isn't yet entirely back to normal, he can now live independently. "I'm just lucky to be alive now," he says.
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The Cotard delusion, Cotard's syndrome, or Walking Corpse Syndrome is a rare mental disorder in which people hold a delusional belief that they are dead (either figuratively or literally), do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs. In rare instances, it can include delusions of immortality.
Signs and symptoms
The central symptom in Cotard's syndrome is the delusion of negation. Those who suffer from this illness often deny that they exist or that a certain portion of their body exists. Cotard's syndrome has been found to have three distinct stages. In the first stage – Germination – patients exhibit psychotic depression and hypochondriacal symptoms. The second stage – Blooming – is characterized by the full blown development of the syndrome and the delusions of negation. The third stage – Chronic – is characterized by severe delusions and chronic depression.
People with the Cotard Delusion often become withdrawn from others and they tend to neglect their own hygiene and well-being. The delusion makes it impossible for patients to make sense of reality, which results in an extremely distorted view of the world. This delusion is often found in psychotic patients suffering from schizophrenia. While Cotard's Syndrome doesn't necessitate hallucinations, the strong delusions are comparable to those found in schizophrenic patients.
Read More About This Syndrome at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotard_delusion
courtesy : telegraph.co.uk ,newscientist.com ,psychologytoday.com ,wikipedia.org
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