Mirror Movements

KYW Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It is one of the disorders of the human body that has fascinated researchers: primarily because they are not aware of the cause. Mirror movements: that's where affected people are unable to move one side of the body without moving the other.  For example, when they're trying to open and close their right hand, their left hand will unintentionally copy the movement. But there has been some recent information about these movements.

Researchers have identified the genetic cause of mirror movements and have tracked its incidence in families.  Scientists have not isolated the part of the brain that controls these mirror movements but it scows the complex relationship of how the brain functions as well as the fact that there can be a genetic impact on how we make even our simplest movements.