I'm glad I don't have Capgras.

In Kim Ferguson’s Intro to Cognitive Science class last semester, we watched a documentary about a man suffering from accidental Capgras, that is, arising from physical injury to the brain. I believe it was a car accident, making his case very similar to Mark’s. In the short video, the man (whose name escapes me) is living with his parents in his old house, and has been for several months. He says that although he is not convinced that the people living with him are his real parents, he is no longer difficult or hostile to them because they seem like good people and they take good care of him. He says the same of his house, which he no longer recognizes as his own. His parents say they are taking baby steps, and that their relationship has much improved from the earlier days. This video was extremely haunting, in a way that was different from the coldness exhibited by Mark towards Karin, in that this man was simply coexisting with his parents because it was convenient and posed no threat to him. All of his past relationships and memories with his parents had evaporated on his end, and he had simply accepted that. While Mark often puts up some sort of fight towards Karin, acknowledging her presence and significance if not as her sister as a caretaker, the other man does not even feel the need to do that. He lives in his fake house because it is shelter, and cohabitates with his fake parents because they cook for him. And while the omnipresent narrator of the video insists that he is making progress and that there is hope that his emotional connections will be restored, it is hard to believe when watching the video.

In the same class, we briefly covered what happens in the brain that causes Capgras. It is speculated that the reason Capgras sufferers may recognize loved ones and simultaneously not recognize them is that connection between emotion and face recognition and memory is damaged (Please tell me if this is not right…my poor memory has suffered over the many months). Therefore, when Mark looks at Karin, he recognizes her face but does not feel the flood of emotion one might feel towards one’s sister; love, affection, irritation, etc. Mark’s brain then rationalizes that since it doesn’t emotionally react towards his sister, then she cannot logically be his actual sister. It is this reason also that Capgras patients hardly ever believe it is themselves who are the cause of it. This is a prime example of both the fragility of the brain and it’s amazing prowess, in this case occurring at the same time.

I enjoyed The Echo Maker. Powers is obviously a very skilled writer; utilizing many literary tools and layered narrative to tell the story. The balance between fiction and disorder was even, in that though the plot was centered around Mark’s Capgras, there were other elements interwoven into it that made it an interesting read without relying solely on the disorder. Powers was informed and respectful and chose a syndrome that lent itself well to fiction writing. While the book itself could have been a more exciting read--the smoothness of the flow became a bit tiring--I think Powers successfully relayed both a story and a course on Capgras.