How Alien Hand Syndrome Works - Stuff You Should Know

This episode of Stuff You Should Know was first broadcast on March 5, 2009.

Link to Episode 

In many episodes of Stuff You Should Know, the hosts have discussed many medical and psychological conditions. This condition is by far the strangest, and the rarest. 

Alien Hand Syndrome was famously depicted in the movie Dr. Strangelove (1964), but who would have guessed this condition is real? Those who suffer from this condition will have control of one of their hands, but not the other. This "alien" hand will involuntarily start doing something at random times, even when you are sleeping. It might start changing the channel, unbutton your shirt, and in one unfortunate case, choke the person. 

Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Telltale signs of this condition include the limb feeling like it's foreign, the hand doesn't feel like it's attached to the body, and the limb has its own personality. Alien Hand Syndrome could be caused by a lesion on the corpus callosum, which in effect makes random messages fire to the alien arm. 

Being a rare disease, at 50 or less documented cases, it wasn't first recognized until 1909, and wasn't accepted by the medical establishment until 1972. There is no cure for this syndrome. 

It's interesting that a disease so rare could be depicted in so many films and shows. Though it was most famously depicted in Dr. Strangelove (so much so that doctors refer to this as Dr. Strangelove Syndrome), it can be found elsewhere. The condition was portrayed in an episode of House, South Park, and the Addams Family. This media attention adds to the mystery of the disorder. People may think this kind of condition can only happen in movies, but it is a real thing. Since it is so rare, finding a cure for it is unlikely to happen.