The Cotard delusion or Cotard's syndrome is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that he or she is dead, does not exist, is putrefying or has lost his/her blood or internal organs. Neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine dealing with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system. ... Mental Illness. ... A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Putrefaction is the decomposition of proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... In biology, an organ is a group of tissues which perform some function. ...

It is named after Jules Cotard (1840–1889), a French neurologist who first described the condition, which he called le délire de négation ("negation delirium"), in a lecture in Paris in 1880. Jules Cotard (June 1, 1840 - August 19, 1889) was a French neurologist who is best known for first describing the Cotard delusion, the delusional belief that you are dead, do not exist or do not have bodily organs. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with the nervous system and disorders affecting it. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ...

In this lecture, Cotard described a patient with the moniker of Mademoiselle X, who denied the existence of God, the Devil, several parts of her body and denied she needed to eat. Later she believed she was eternally damned and could no longer die a natural death. A moniker (or monicker) is a pseudonym, or cognomen, which one gives to oneself. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Devil is a title given to the supernatural entity, who, in Christianity, Islam, and other religions, is a powerful, evil entity and the tempter of humankind. ... A meal is an instance of eating, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared foodstuffs. ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... // Dammit redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Young and Leafhead (1996, p155) describe a modern-day case of Cotard delusion in a patient who suffered brain injury after a motorcycle accident: Motorcyclists take a break from the road A motorcycle or motorbike is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle powered by an engine. ...

It can arise in the context of neurological illness or mental illness and is particularly associated with depression and derealisation. Sepsis (in Greek Σήψις) is a serious medical condition caused by a severe systemic infection leading to a systemic inflammatory response. ... Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. ... Mental Illness. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or sometimes unipolar when compared with bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Cultural references

• On episode 4.14 ("My Lucky Charm") of the television show Scrubs, a character named Jerry (played by Michael Bunin), who suffers from Cotard syndrome, complains of the hardships of being dead.
• British electronic musician Matt Elliott named a song for the condition on his 2003 album The Mess We Made.

Scrubs is an American situation comedy that premiered on October 2, 2001 on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence, who also co-created Spin City. ... Electronic music is a term for music created using electronic devices. ... Matt Elliott is a musician from Bristol, who initially recorded as The Third Eye Foundation, and since 2001 has used his own name. ... The Mess We Made is an album by British electronic musician Matt Elliott, released in the UK by Domino Records and in the United States by Merge Records[1] in 2003 (see 2003 in music). ...

See also

• delusion
• delusional disorder
• psychosis

A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... Delusional disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a psychotic mental illness that involves holding one or more non-bizarre delusions in the absence of any other significant psychopathology (signs or symptoms of mental illness). ... Psychosis (not to be confused with psychopathy) is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state in which thought and perception are severely impaired. ...

External links and references

• Pearn, J. & Gardner-Thorpe, C. (2002) Jules Cotard (1840-1889) His life and the unique syndrome which bears his name. Neurology, 58, 1400-1403.
• Young, A.W. & Leafhead, K.M. (1996) Betwixt Life and Death: Case Studies of the Cotard Delusion. In P.W. Halligan & J.C. Marshall (eds) Method in Madness: Case studies in Cognitive Neuropsychiatry. Hove: Psychology Press.