The Electronic Telegraph Friday 8 September 2000 'Strangelove syndrome' cases likely to increase By Robert Uhlig, David Derbyshire and Roger Highfield AT least 40 people worldwide are suffering from Dr Strangelove syndrome, a condition in which, like the Peter Sellers character, they cannot control the actions of an anarchic hand. Prof Sergio Della Sala a consultant neurologist at the University of Aberdeen said that one of his patients regularly tried to strangle himself at night because he was unable to control his self-willed hand. Other patients pleaded with their errant hand not to misbehave or strapped it behind their backs. Prof Della Sala said: "In Dr Strangelove, the character played by Peter Sellers cannot stop his arm from performing a Nazi salute. The patients are just like Peter Sellers. They shout 'my hand does things I do not want it to do'. It is very distressing. I sat with one woman whose anarchic hand stuffed fish bones into her mouth against her will until she choked." In another case, a patient had trouble choosing television channels because as soon as the right selected one station the left hand would press another button. The syndrome is caused by a lesion, usually the result of head injury, a stroke or aneurysm in the supplementary motor area of the brain. Since it was first noticed in 1909, several versions of the Jekyll and Hyde story had been advanced to explain the phenomenon, Prof Della Sala said, but none had been entirely satisfactory. He said: "It is bizarre. It tells us that a lesion causes actions we do not want to perform and therefore that free will may be lodged somewhere in the brain." It was possible that there were two levels of free will, a conscious and a subliminal form. He said: "Maybe the unconscious free will is taking over from the conscious free will." Prof Della Sala said the condition was so grotesque that it bordered on the comic, but he warned that many more people might be suffering from the syndrome but had been misdiagnosed and that the incidence could increase as more doctors became aware of it. Scientists have not come up with any method of treating Dr Strangelove syndrome but believe it could provide valuable insights into how the human mind works. Prof Della Sala said: "Studying the anarchic hand could add to our understanding of how we decide to perform an action, and carry it out, or decide to inhibit an action prompted by stimuli we see around us, and avoid carrying it out." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
