What does alien hand syndrome mean?
Definitions for alien hand syndrome
alien hand syn·drome
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word alien hand syndrome.
Wikipedia
Alien hand syndrome
Alien hand syndrome (AHS) or Dr. Strangelove syndrome is a category of conditions in which a person experiences their limbs acting seemingly on their own, without conscious control over the actions. There are a variety of clinical conditions that fall under this category, which most commonly affects the left hand. There are many similar terms for the various forms of the condition, but they are often used inappropriately. The affected person may sometimes reach for objects and manipulate them without wanting to do so, even to the point of having to use the controllable hand to restrain the alien hand. Under normal circumstances however, given that intent and action can be assumed to be deeply mutually entangled, the occurrence of alien hand syndrome can be usefully conceptualized as a phenomenon reflecting a functional "disentanglement" between thought and action. Alien hand syndrome is best documented in cases where a person has had the two hemispheres of their brain surgically separated, a procedure sometimes used to relieve the symptoms of extreme cases of epilepsy and epileptic psychosis, e.g., temporal lobe epilepsy. It also occurs in some cases after brain surgery, stroke, infection, tumor, aneurysm, migraine and specific degenerative brain conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, corticobasal degeneration and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Other areas of the brain that are associated with alien hand syndrome are the frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes.
Wikidata
Alien hand syndrome
Alien hand syndrome, sometimes used synonymously with anarchic hand or Dr Strangelove syndrome, is a neurological disorder in which the afflicted person's hand appears to take on a mind of its own. Alien hand syndrome is best documented in cases where a person has had the two hemispheres of their brain surgically separated, a procedure sometimes used to relieve the symptoms of extreme cases of epilepsy. It also occurs in some cases after brain surgery, stroke, infection, tumor, aneurysm and specific degenerative brain conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Other areas of the brain that are associated with alien hand syndrome are the frontal, occipital and parietal lobes. The first known case described in the medical literature appeared in a detailed case report published in German in 1908 by the preeminent German neuro-psychiatrist, Kurt Goldstein. In this paper, Goldstein described a right-handed woman who had suffered a stroke affecting her left side from which she had partially recovered by the time she was seen. However, her left arm seemed as though it belonged to another person and performed actions that appeared to occur independent of her will.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Alien Hand Syndrome
An apraxia characterized by the affected limb having involuntary, autonomous, and purposeful behaviors that are perceived as being controlled by an external force. Often the affected limb interferes with the actions of the normal limb. Symptoms develop from lesions in the CORPUS CALLOSUM or medial frontal cortex, stroke, infarction, and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB SYNDROME, corticobasal degeneration).
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of alien hand syndrome in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of alien hand syndrome in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
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"alien hand syndrome." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 16 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/alien+hand+syndrome>.
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