INVERITAS
SYNDROME
Inveritas Syndrome is an extremely rare neurological and psychological disorder characterised by a distorted perception of reality.
Diagnosing Inveritas Syndrome is difficult due to its rarity and overlap with other neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Clinical Evaluation
Clinical Evaluation. A neurologist or psychiatrist will conduct a detailed patient history and symptom assessment, focusing on:
- Frequency and intensity of reality distortion episodes
- Presence of phantom memories or sensory anomalies
- Cognitive difficulties, such as struggles with logic and paradoxical thoughts
- Emotional detachment or feelings of unreality
- Onset and progression of symptoms
Neurological & Psychological Testing
- Reality Monitoring Assessment – Tests how well a patient can distinguish between real and imagined memories.
- Temporal Perception Tests – Evaluates whether the patient perceives time abnormally.
- Sensory Integration Screening – Identifies hallucinatory or dissociative experiences that do not align with known psychiatric conditions.
Neuroimaging & Biomarker Studies
While no definitive biomarkers exist, MRI and fMRI scans are used to look for irregularities in:
- The prefrontal cortex (associated with decision-making and reality processing)
- The hippocampus (involved in memory formation and differentiation between real and false memories)
- The temporal lobes (linked to auditory and sensory hallucinations)
Some researchers are also exploring EEG studies to detect unusual brainwave activity during perception shifts.
Differential Diagnosis (Rule-Out Process)
Because Inveritas Syndrome shares symptoms with several psychiatric and neurological disorders, doctors must rule out:
- Schizophrenia or Psychotic Disorders (patients with IS typically lack paranoia or consistent delusions)
- Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder (DPDR) (Inveritas Syndrome includes more profound memory distortions and paradoxical thinking)
- Complex Migraines with Aura (hallucinations in migraines are often more visual and transient)
- Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (can cause similar distortions but has detectable seizure activity)
- Neurodegenerative Diseases (Alzheimer’s, Lewy Body Dementia, etc.)
Final Diagnosis
Because there is no single test for Inveritas Syndrome, diagnosis is made through an exclusionary process and detailed case history. If a patient consistently exhibits the core symptoms with no identifiable cause, a diagnosis may be considered.
Louis-Philippe Moreau (1873)
Moreau sought medical help after experiencing severe distortions in time perception, claiming that weeks would pass in mere hours, while other times, a single moment seemed to stretch indefinitely. He also reported phantom memories of detailed conversations with people he had never met and a persistent feeling that his surroundings were subtly "unreal" or "fabricated."
Though largely forgotten, Moreau’s case is now considered the first recorded instance of Inveritas Syndrome, laying the groundwork for later studies into reality perception disorders.
The Inveritas timeline
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symptoms
Reality Dissociation
Patients frequently struggle to distinguish between real and imagined events, leading to confusion and disorientation.
Temporal Distortion
Affected individuals may perceive time as moving too fast, too slow, or even skipping moments entirely
Phantom Memories
Patients recall detailed memories of events that never occurred, sometimes with sensory experiences attached
Cognitive Paradoxes
Difficulty processing logical contradictions, leading to persistent existential or philosophical distress.
Emotional Detachment
A sense of unreality in emotional responses, where patients feel as if they are watching themselves from the outside
Environmental Uncanny Effect
A perception that familiar places and people seem subtly "off" or different in inexplicable ways