Neuropsychological research in delusional disorder: a comprehensive review

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in the field of delusions, and different aspects of delusional disorder (DD) have been investigated. However, DD is still one of the most underresearched psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we review the literature on DD and most of the theoretical approaches proposed to explain the development and maintenance of delusions. DD research is infrequent, and delusions in this disorder have been scarcely investigated. We aim to establish the state of the art of delusions research to date and point to the shortage of neuropsychological studies in patients with DD. We also justify the need for future research into the neuropsychological correlates of DD as measured in patients with this disorder given that most previous research has mainly focused on other psychotic conditions.