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Posterior alien hand in a left-handed person
Emanuela Terazzi1, Daniela Mittino, Francesco Monaco
1Clinica Neurologica, AOU Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy. terryela@libero.it
BMJ Case Reports
|July 18, 2012
Summary
Posterior alien hand syndrome typically affects the non-dominant hand. This study details the first reported case in a left-handed individual, involving their dominant hand.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Clinical Case Studies
Background:
- Posterior alien hand syndrome (AHS) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by a limb that moves autonomously.
- It is typically associated with lesions in the contralateral hemisphere, usually the right hemisphere in right-handed individuals.
Observation:
- This report presents a unique case of AHS in a left-handed patient.
- The affected limb was the dominant hand, which is atypical for this condition.
Findings:
- The case demonstrates that AHS can involve the dominant hand in left-handed individuals.
- This challenges the conventional understanding of hemispheric lateralization and its role in AHS.
Implications:
- Findings suggest a need to reconsider the typical hemispheric localization for AHS, especially in non-right-handed populations.
- This case expands the clinical spectrum of alien hand syndrome and its neuroanatomical correlates.
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