The alien hand syndrome: Report of a case and review of the literature

Abstract

The term "alien hand syndrome (AHS)" comprises many clinical signs of which the common features are the involuntary motor movement of the affected limb and the denial of limb ownership. It can result from several diseases involving corpus callosum or medial frontal cortex. Two major types of AHS were previously classified, callosal and frontal types. Moreover, posterior subtype of which the lesions do not involve corpus callosum have been reported. In the present report, the authors describe a 57-year-old man with AHS, aggressive behavior and hemispatial neglect which are the rare manifestations of callosal damage. Neuroimaging demonstrated subacute infarction of entire corpus callosum from the rostrum to splenium. A review of the literature on these abnormalities is included in the present paper.