Imagine walking through the grocery store and reaching for the milk. Your about to grab it when suddenly you see a hand slap someone. You look down to realize that it was your own hand. This is something that may happen to someone with alien hand syndrome. In the following text, we take a deep dive into Alien Hand Syndrome and its causes.

Table of Contents

• What is Alien Hand Syndrome?

• What causes Alien Hand Syndrome?

• Conclusion

What is Alien Hand Syndrome?

Alien Hand Syndrome (AHS), formally known as Anarchic Hand Syndrome, is a phenomenon where one limb is not under control of that person’s mind. The person looses control over the hand and it acts as if it’s got a mind of it’s own.For example, in the medical drama the House one of the patients has Alien Hand Syndrome in episode “Both Sides Now”.

AHS can occur for different periods of time. For some it could last two minutes, while for others it could last two years. While it does not seem that dangerous, it has the potential to be a danger. There were some instances where the hand ended up choking the victim. Alien Hand Syndrome has a wide range of affects from not being able to button your shirt to posing self harm.

What type of Alien Hand Syndromes exist?

Alien Hand Syndrome(AHS) has multiple types. Some include the frontal version, posterior version and collosal version.

Starting with the frontal version, this is the type that affects the frontal lobe and leads to involuntary groping, grasping, and difficulty releasing objects. For example, if you were watching TV, your right hand would involuntarily grab the remote. The frontal version has only been seen to affect the dominant hand.

Moving on the the posterior version, this type affects the poterior portion of your brain. It is known for leading to levitation of the limb, less direct movement, and being more psychological. Using the TV example, if you were sitting watching TV your left hand would involuntarily start to levitate. The posterior version hdoes not have a prefered limb.

The last example of the types of AHS include the collosal version. This type is known for difficulty in two handed tasks. It affects teh corpus collasum in your brain. Using the TV example, if you were watching TV and you were reaching for the remote with one hand the other hand would knock the remote out of the way. It does not seem to have a prefered hand.

What causes Alien Hand Syndrome?

Most of the time a damage in the brain leads to AHS. For example, there was a case where the frontal lobe of the brain was damaged and the person ended up having AHS on their right hand. Other cases have been found to effect the corpus collasum and led to trouble with two handed tasks.

30% of those with Parkinson’s varient, along with 4% of those with Creutzfeldt Jakob disease contain Alein Hand Syndrome. While this may not seem like much, at the end of the day these are think someone else it using their arm.

Conclusion

The patient has no control over their arm ,and no idea that the limb is part of them when they have Alien Hand Syndrome. It is a syndrome that has extreme effects on the patients mental health. Unfortunately, AHS does not get much publicity and is often downplayed, leading to lesser research in this area towards a cure and thereby patients suffuring without a cure. In conclusion, I hope that you take the information that you learned today to tell your friends and help spread the world that syndromes like Alien Hand Syndrome exist.