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Fregoli’s phenomenon

a misidentification syndrome in which an individual identifies a persecutor successively in different people known to him or her (e.g., a neighbor, doctor, attendant), on the delusional assumption that the persecutor is capable of changing faces. [first identified in 1927 and named for Italian actor Leopoldo Fregoli (1867–1936), who was renowned for his ability to alter his appearance]

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Psychology term of the day

January 31st 2025

somatosensory system

somatosensory system

the parts of the nervous system that serve perception of touch, vibration, pain, temperature, and position (see somatosense). Nerve fibers from receptors for these senses enter the dorsal roots of the spinal cord and ascend mainly through tracts in the dorsal columns to the ventroposterior nuclei of the thalamus, from which they are relayed (directly or indirectly) to the somatosensory areas of the parietal cortex. Also called somatic sensory system.