The complex phenomenon associated with this disorder falls under the rubric of alien hand syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by a limb that seems to ...Ourwebsiteusescookiestoenhanceyourexperience.Bycontinuingtouseoursite,orclicking"Continue,"youareagreeingtoourCookiePolicy | Continue[SkiptoNavigation]TwitterFacebookEmailMoreThisIssueCitations55ViewMetricsDownloadPDFFullTextShareTwitterFacebookEmailLinkedInCiteThisPermissionsHistoryofNeurology:SeminalCitationFebruary 2004AlienHandSyndromeI.Biran,MD;A.Chatterjee,MDAuthorAffiliationsArticleInformationFromtheDepartmentofNeurologyandtheCenterforCognitiveNeuroscience,UniversityofPennsylvania,Philadelphia. CHRISTOPHERG.GOETZMDArchNeurol.2004;61(2):292-294.doi:10.1001/archneur.61.2.292visualabstracticonVisualAbstracteditorialcommenticonEditorialCommentrelatedarticlesiconRelatedArticlesauthorinterviewiconInterviewsmultimediaiconMultimediaFullTextAbstractInStanleyKubrick'smovieDrStrangelove,1themaincharacterisdescribedas"erratic"anddisplaysabizarremovementdisorder.Hisrighthandseemstobedrivenbyawillofitsown,attimesclutchinghisownthroatandatothertimesraisingintoaNazisalute.DrStrangelovemusttrytorestrainthiswaywardlimbwithhislefthand.Bizarreasthisfictionalcharacteris,asimilarmovementdisordercanoccurinneurologicdisease.Thecomplexphenomenonassociatedwiththisdisorderfallsundertherubricofalienhandsyndrome.Thissyndromeischaracterizedbyalimbthatseemstoperformmeaningfulactswithoutbeingguidedbytheintentionofthepatient.Patientsfindthemselvesunabletostopthealienlimbfromreachingandgrabbingobjects,andtheymaybeunabletoreleasethesegraspedobjectswithoutusingtheirotherhandtopryopentheirfingers.Thesepatientsfrequentlyexpressastonishmentandfrustrationattheerrantlimb.Theyexperienceitasbeingcontrolledbyanexternalagentandoftenrefertoitinthethirdperson.Thisarticleoutlinestheoriginsoftheterminologyusedindescribingthissyndrome,earlyobservations,andstudiesregardingitsfunctionalneuroanatomy.FullTextReadMoreAboutHistoryofMedicineMovementDisordersNe