[1] Somatoparaphrenia differs from a similar disorder, asomatognosia, which is characterized as loss of recognition of half of the body or a limb, possibly due to paralysis or unilateral neglect.
[6] Cases of somatoparaphrenia had been described since the end of the nineteenth century, but it wasn't until 1942 that Gerstman introduced the term somatoparaphrenic symptoms, defined as illusions or distortions concerning the perception of the affected limb or side of the body, which is believed or experienced as absent.
The term was coined from the Greek: παρά, para + φρεν, phren, meaning "against the mind" and σώμα, soma (stem somat–) referring to the "body"; therefore, somatoparaphrenia is defined as a bodily delusion.
[8] It has been suggested that damage to the posterior cerebral regions (temporoparietal junction) of the cortex may play a significant role in the development of somatoparaphrenia.
[13] It has also been suggested that involvement of deep cortical and subcortical grey structures of the temporal lobe may contribute to reduce the sense of familiarity experienced by somatoparaphrenic patients for their paralyzed limb.