Ankita Chattopadhyay, Amity University Kolkata
The word ALIEN can be associated with words like unknown, unfamiliar, disturbing. The syndrome is a rare neurological condition developed in 1909 causing one’s hand to act on its free will. It means that the individual has no control over their hand. Sometimes one leg is affected as well but it isn’t common.
The hand isn’t in control of the mind and moves as if it has its mind. The affected hand behaves foreign to its owner during this period and seems to move deliberately to carry out involuntary. This syndrome affects adults mostly but can also affect children as well. It is also termed as Dr. Strangelove syndrome as one of the characters in Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr. Strangelove has it. Few cases have shown that this hand will try to harm the human. Some humans have names for their Alien Hand.
Cause-
Several factors like stroke, trauma, tumor, cancer, brain aneurysm, or neurodegenerative diseases can cause the initiation of the disease.
It also has a connection with brain surgery involving an incision along the corpus callosum which allows communication between the two sides of the hemispheres of the brain. The surgery of epilepsy may lead to this condition.
Outcome-
Brain shows that people with alien hand syndrome have isolated activities in the contralateral primary motor area. This is due to damage to the parietal cortex. This influences the planning systems and causes spontaneous movements.
Symptoms-
The most accurate one is the inability to control the hand as it acts against one’s wish. The affected hand moves involuntarily while performing tasks and actions. The hand is said to move without awareness. It does it as though it’s being controlled by someone else or has a mind of its own. The hand might be touching the face, slap, or pick up objects. The alien hand may also fly on its own. The affected part might also perform virtual like closing a drawer while the other arm might just open a shirt that was just buttoned. The alien hand is uncooperative performing incorrect actions failing to follow commands.
Diagnosis-
The syndrome follows the common pattern like rest which is observation and evaluation. Being a neurological disorder lacks a psychiatric component thus making it complicated to diagnose. Symptoms are sometimes credit to a psychiatric disorder, which might be disturbing for the person affected.
Treatment-
There is no treatment for this. Therapies and pharmacologic lack development, but scientists are working on treatments to reduce symptoms. People who have this syndrome after brain illness or a stroke may recover after some time. However, the recovery rate is less successful for people with neurodegenerative diseases. Muscle control therapies can help manage it. However, this method may not provide long-lasting results. The recommendation of physical and occupational therapies can be done.
Source–
- Iftah Biran, Tania Giovannetti, Laurel Buxbaum, and Anjan Chatterjee; The alien hand syndrome: What makes the alien hand alien?; 2005; Cognitive Neuropsychology; DOI: 10.1080/02643290500180282
- Willian Morison; What is Alien hand syndrome?; 2018, Healthline; URL: https://www.healthline.com/health/alien-hand-syndrome
Also read: Decoding Mitotic Poisons
Good work for this information.