Critical Analysis of Alien Hand Syndrome-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Critical Thinking and Research Methodology. Answer: Critical Analysis of Alien Hand Syndrome Hassan and Josephs (2016, pg1) define Alien hand syndrome as one of the rare disorders associated with loss of limb ownership or involuntary limb movement. From the name alien hand, it is clear that the condition affects the hand. However, Alien Hand Syndrome is also able to affect the leg. Several literature sources that study this condition claim that it has three variants. The variants are posterior, callosal, and frontal. The frontal variant mostly affects the right hand (because it is most dominant). The condition is characterized by the right hand that is groping, impulsive, compulsive object manipulation, and difficulty in releasing grasped objects. In contrast, the callosal variant mostly affects the left hand (for the right-handed patients). The syndrome is, therefore, characterized by the unavailability of frontal features and limb weakness. The callosal variant has other clinical features. The features are tactile anomia, apraxia, agraphia, visual anomia, Alexia, and negle ct. Lastly, the posterior variant mostly affects the left hand (non-dominant). The variant causes strong estrangement feelings on the affected limb and motor activity that is less complex like non-conflicting or non-purposeful movements (Hassan and Josephs, 2016, pg1). As mentioned before, the Alien Hand Syndrome mostly affects the left hand (non-dominant). However, the findings of this condition are not confined to the limbs alone because it also affects the legs. The etiology of the syndrome can be used to explain its location, temporal progression, onset, and its clinical features. In as much as the infection is unilateral, it can also be bilateral with bilateral strokes or neurodegenerative disorders. On the same note, Bryant (2017), argues that neurodegenerative disorders are often seen together with AHS in subacute forms. If the onset is sudden, the condition is accompanied by a stroke. Those are the common presenting signs after which classical findings follow. In other words, the syndrome progresses in neurodegenerative disorders in which it spreads to contralateral or ipsilateral limbs in months to years (Bryant, 2017). The condition will improve with time following a stroke. However, Panikkath., et al (2017), suggests that AHS may be inte rmittent or short-lived in multiple sclerosis, metabolic causes, or stroke. Alien hand syndrome affects old and middle-aged adults. However, there is a pediatric case reported to be associated with Parry-Romberg syndrome. In the case, the patient has an emotional response to AHS. The responses are frustration, self-criticism, and annoyance with the infected limb. The subject personifies or admonishes the limb as Bmischievous and not part of his own body. The limb then becomes a true alien (Moawad, 2017). In summary, several factors affect the presentation of Alien Hand Syndrome. The factors are lesion location, hand dominance, temporal onset, natural history, and etiology. However, few study activities have established answers regarding AHSs etiopathology. Most of the studies on this illness are limited to inadequate interpretation towards the study criteria, inadequate longitudinal data, and inadequate pathology variety (Panikkath., et al, 2017). References Bryant, C. (2017). How Alien Hand Syndrome Works. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/alien-hand.htm [Accessed 14 Dec. 2017]. Hassan, A. and Josephs, K. (2016). Alien Hand Syndrome. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 16(8). Moawad, H. (2017). Alien Hand Syndrome | Neurology Times. [online] Neurologytimes.com. Available at: https://www.neurologytimes.com/blog/alien-hand-syndrome [Accessed 14 Dec. 2017]. Panikkath, R., Panikkath, D., Mojumder, D. and Nugent, K. (2017). The alien hand syndrome. [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059570/ [Accessed 14 Dec. 2017].