Weird but Real Medical Condition: Dr. Strangelove Syndrome

Agencies – Sudan Events

Named after the title character in the classic 1964 film, this condition involves uncontrollable hand or limb movement. The condition is also referred to as Alien Hand Syndrome (AHS). “From time to time, when the other hand is engaged, [the affected hand] may hop in and try to interfere with that hand or do something counter to it,” says Elizabeth Geary, PhD, a neuropsychologist with NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Ill. AHS is usually the result of a tumor, stroke, or surgery that affects the corpus callosum, which connects the brain’s two hemispheres. Damage to the right hemisphere impacts the left hand and vice versa because one side of the brain controls movement on the body’s opposite side.