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Forced Groping

Forced groping describes involuntary movements of a hand, as if searching for an object or item which has touched or brushed against it; the hand may follow the object around if it moves (magnetic movements). There may be an accompanying grasp reflex. This type of behavior may be displayed by an alien hand, most usually in the context of corticobasal degeneration. Forced groping may be conceptualized as an exploratory reflex which is "released" from frontal lobe control by a pathological process, as in utilization behavior.