Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society

March 9th, 2006

More Strange Disorders

As a followup to our post on Koro, a recently published list of other strange afflictions. A sampling:

ONDINE’S CURSE

A wonderful name for a nasty problem, this is a sleep disorder resulting from a malfunctioning autonomic nervous system. Its victims are unable to breathe spontaneously but must consciously will each breath, so will suffocate if they fall asleep. Respirators may help.

ALIEN HAND SYNDROME

Another condition arising from brain trauma, this bizarre syndrome involves losing control of one hand, which can do anything from gesticulating to unbuttoning clothes its owner is trying to put on with his or her other hand. The condition is also called Dr Strangelove Syndrome, thanks to Peter Sellers’ inspired performance as Dr Strangelove in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film. Sellers’s mechanical hand alternated between throttling himself and throwing Nazi salutes. While victims can still experience sensation in the affected hand, they say it seems to have a mind of its own. The only solution is to keep it busy, for example by holding onto something - just not, hopefully, your own throat.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROME

Also called micropsia, this condition distorts visual perception so that objects that are close appear disproportionately tiny, as though viewed through the wrong end of a telescope.

FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME

Imagine suddenly putting on a convincing French accent. Or Scottish. Or Italian. It sounds like fun, but it’s no joke for the victims of Foreign Accent Syndrome, which can set in after strokes or other brain trauma. Without warning, they’ll start speaking their native tongue with a different accent, which could sound anything from Swedish to South African. Victims need never have heard the accent in question, according to Oxford University researchers Dr Jennifer Gurd and Dr John Coleman, who believe it arises from damage to areas of the brain responsible for language production, altering pitch, pronunciation and speech patterns. So people with the syndrome aren’t putting on a foreign accent, it just sounds that way.

CAPGRAS SYNDROME

A loved one has been stolen by a doppelganger; sounds like a movie about alien abduction. But for sufferers of Capgras Syndrome, the action occurs only in their brains, not outer space. This syndrome involves the delusion that a significant other, such as a parent, spouse or other relative, is being impersonated by an imposter. Sufferers sometimes attack the supposed double. The delusion can also extend even to oneself, with the person convinced that the reflection in the mirror is that of an imposter. While extremely rare, it is linked with brain damage, psychotic disorders and various neurological problems that somehow interfere with normal face recognition abilities. The syndrome owes its name to the French psychiatrist who first described it.

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More Strange Disorders

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