Introduction: Different types of confabulation or false memory can arise from brain disease. There are competing explanatory theories for the mechanisms underlying confabulation. Recent literature has attempted to relate the notion of delusion to that of confabulation.
Method: A brief review of the literature relating to these ideas.
Results: The varieties of confabulation or false memory that can arise from brain disease are considered. The varieties of delusion and the contexts in which they arise are considered. Comparisons are made between the characteristics of spontaneous confabulation and those of delusional memory.
Conclusion: It is suggested that global theories purporting to account for both confabulation and delusions, in whatever circumstances they arise, can have only limited explanatory power. On the other hand, there are resemblances between confabulation and delusional memory, and the similarities and differences between these phenomena deserve further empirical investigation.