“Alien Hand” Develops Mind Of Its Own!

People with alien hand syndrome experience a hand that has a mind of it’s own.

From an article at Dateline Zero – Anyone who has seen the horror film Evil Dead 2 (an all time favourite of mine) can imagine why such a thing as “alien hand syndrome” would be the stuff of nightmares. And no, the movie comparison isn’t too much of an exaggeration, although the symptoms are not always so violent.

Picture this scenario: “You’re napping on a breezy Sunday afternoon in the hammock of your backyard,” the article says, “enjoying the peace and quiet of your suburban utopia. Slowly, your left hand eases up, wraps around your neck and you awake to find your own hand locked in a kung-fu grip on your throat.”

“You pry it loose with your other hand, finger by finger, until it relents and you’re left there staring at a hand that suddenly doesn’t feel like your own. While it sounds like something from a B-grade horror movie, it’s actually a very odd and very real medical condition known as ‘alien hand syndrome’ (AHS).”

This is a very real, very disturbing, and (thankfully) very rare medical condition. An individual with this neurological disorder has full sensation in the rogue hand, but is unable to control its movements, and does not feel that it is a part of their body. The hand becomes personified, as if it has a will of its own, and its owner will usually deny ownership of the limb… 

Read more about this horrific and true condition, from the full article at Dateline Zero.