National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Congenital mirror movement disorder


Other Names:
Congenital mirror movements; Bimanual synergia; Bimanual synkinesis; Congenital mirror movements; Bimanual synergia; Bimanual synkinesis; CMM; Mirror movements; Familial congenital controlateral synkinesia; Familial congenital mirror movements; Hereditary congenital controlateral synkinesia; Hereditary congenital mirror movements; Isolated congenital controlateral synkinesia; Isolated congenital mirror movements See More
Categories:
Congenital mirror movement disorder (CMM) is a rare disorder characterized by persistent, involuntary movements on one side of the body that mirror intentional movements on the opposite side of the body.[1][2][3] Mirroring movements are common in early stages of life during development, but they typically disappear during childhood when neurologic development of motor pathways is complete. Mirror movements that do not disappear and persist into adulthood are considered abnormal.[3] In people with CMM, no other neurologic abnormalities are present, distinguishing CMM from other neurologic disorders that cause abnormal mirror movements.[3] CMM can be caused by mutations in the RAD51 or DCC genes.[2][3][4] In some cases, the cause is unknown, but it is likely that mutations in other, unidentified genes are also responsible for CMM.[1] The mutations that cause CMM may be inherited from a parent (familial CMM) or may occur for the first time in a person with no family history of CMM (sporadic CMM). Inheritance of familial CMM usually is autosomal dominant but may be autosomal recessive in rare cases.[1][2][3] Not all people who inherit mutations that cause CMM will have the disorder (a phenomenon known as reduced penetrance).[2] The diagnosis can be made based on the symptoms (a clinical diagnosis) which may be confirmed with genetic testing if a responsible mutation is found.[2] Management of CMM in childhood may include special accommodations in school (such as allowing extra time to complete work and limiting the amount of handwriting), but it should be made clear to teachers that intellectual disability is not associated with CMM.[2] To reduce the risk of pain or discomfort in the hands and arms, people with CMM may benefit from limiting complex movements involving both hands and sustained or repetitive hand activity.[2]
Last updated: 12/26/2018

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Clumsiness 0002312
Easy fatigability 0003388
Morphological abnormality of the corticospinal tract 0002492
Poor fine motor coordination 0007010
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Agenesis of corpus callosum 0001274
Dysgenesis of the hippocampus 0025101
Myalgia
Muscle ache
Muscle pain
[ more ] 		0003326
Specific learning disability 0001328
1%-4% of people have these symptoms
Cerebral palsy 0100021
Fused cervical vertebrae
Fused neck
0002949
Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism 0000044
Incomplete penetrance 0003829
Intellectual disability, mild
Mental retardation, borderline-mild
Mild and nonprogressive mental retardation
Mild mental retardation
[ more ] 		0001256
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Autosomal dominant inheritance 0000006
Autosomal recessive inheritance 0000007
Bimanual synkinesia
Hand mirror movements
Mirror hand movements
Mirror movements
[ more ] 		0001335
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

Making a diagnosis for a genetic or rare disease can often be challenging. Healthcare professionals typically look at a person’s medical history, symptoms, physical exam, and laboratory test results in order to make a diagnosis. The following resources provide information relating to diagnosis and testing for this condition. If you have questions about getting a diagnosis, you should contact a healthcare professional.

Testing Resources

  • The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) provides information about the genetic tests for this condition. The intended audience for the GTR is health care providers and researchers. Patients and consumers with specific questions about a genetic test should contact a health care provider or a genetics professional.

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Congenital mirror movement disorder. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

Support and advocacy groups can help you connect with other patients and families, and they can provide valuable services. Many develop patient-centered information and are the driving force behind research for better treatments and possible cures. They can direct you to research, resources, and services. Many organizations also have experts who serve as medical advisors or provide lists of doctors/clinics. Visit the group’s website or contact them to learn about the services they offer. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement by GARD.

Organizations Supporting this Disease

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

  • Genetics Home Reference (GHR) contains information on Congenital mirror movement disorder. This website is maintained by the National Library of Medicine.

In-Depth Information

  • GeneReviews provides current, expert-authored, peer-reviewed, full-text articles describing the application of genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients with specific inherited conditions.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. Each entry has a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 
    Mirror Movements 1
    Mirror Movements 2
    Mirror Movements 3
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Congenital mirror movement disorder. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.

  1. Congenital mirror movement disorder. Genetics Home Reference (GHR). April, 2015; http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/congenital-mirror-movement-disorder.
  2. Méneret A, Trouillard O, Depienne C, Roze E. Congenital Mirror Movements. GeneReviews. March, 2015; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279760/.
  3. Demirayak P, Onat OE, Gevrekci AÖ, Gülsüner S, Uysal H, Bilgen RS, Doerschner K, et al. Abnormal subcortical activity in congenital mirror movement disorder with RAD51 mutation. Diagn Interv Radiol. November, 2018; 24(6):392-401. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6223827/.
  4. Srour M, Rivière JB, Pham JM, et al. Mutations in DCC cause congenital mirror movements. Science. 2010; 328:592. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20431009.
  5. Depienne C, Bouteiller D, Méneret A, et al. RAD51 haploinsufficiency causes congenital mirror movements in humans. Am J Hum Genet. 2012; 90:301–307. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3276668/.