In 1880, a woman visited a French neurologist named Jules Cotard, wherein she said to have 'no brain, no nerves, no chest, no stomach, no intestines'. The woman, dubbed Mademoiselle X by Cotard in his notes, claimed that she was nothing more than a decomposing that believed neither God nor Satan existed. She also stated that, since she could not die a natural death, she had no need to eat. Mademoiselle X died of starvation later on.
This phenomenon is then eventually known as Cotard's delusion where those inflicted have a belief that they are, in fact, dead, lack certain parts or, in severe cases, believe that they have attained immortality. Most sufferers have nihilistic points of view. As this is a very rare disease, there is still a lack of information regarding the subject. I found an article by an unknown author that stated that despite the fact that Cotard's case is well-known, there was also a case a hundred years prior to his that involved a woman that had a stroke and passed out. After waking up, the woman demanded she be placed in a coffin as she was dead. Although the woman had recovered from her delusions, these sadly came back every three months. The cause of this disease is, sadly, still not known.
In article by Melissa Barett, called Real Life Zombies: Three Fascinating Cases of Cotard's Syndrome, shows three particular examples of the disease
Despite the technological advancements of humanity, this case still shows how much we have still to discover many things about our own brain. I hope to see experts explore the subjet and find the source of this outstanding case.
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