PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Night Terrors”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

The natural history of night terrors.

Night terrors are a sleep disorder, resulting from a partial arousal during slow-wave sleep. They usually occur within 2 hours of sleep onset and are characterized by agitation and unresponsiveness to external stimuli. Nineteen children (ten males, nine females) with onset of night terrors before age 7.5 years were studied by means of a questionnaire. Mean observation time (time from onset age to age at survey) was 8.5 years, but longer than 10 years in nine subjects. Seventy percent of the children had their initial frequency of night terrors as their peak frequency, with a tendency for shorter duration of the parasomnia in this group. Children with onset age less than 3.5 years may be expected to attain a peak frequency of at least one episode per week. Children with onset after 3.5 years, but before 7.5 years, may expect to attain a peak frequency of 1-2 episodes per month. There was a mean duration of 3.9 years, with a tendency for longer duration in children with positive family histories of sleep walking. Fifty percent stopped by age 8 years; 36 percent continued into adolescence. No common abnormal behavioral profile or psychopathology was found. Common precipitants of attacks were not identified.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Night terrors in adults: phenomenology and relationship to psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Night terrors have been classically described in children. Night terrors occurring in adults have been linked to psychopathology. Recent descriptions of sleep panic attacks have raised questions about their relationship to night terrors. METHOD: Evaluations from a medically affiliated sleep disorders program were reviewed to identify adult patients presenting with events consistent with night terrors. Eleven patients were identified, 10 of whom had polysomnographic evaluation, and their records were reviewed for information relevant to night terrors and psychiatric symptoms. Six of these patients were available for further assessment which included inquiry regarding sleep events, a Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) for psychiatric disorders, and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory II (MCMI-II) for personality-related measurements. RESULTS: In the original sample, night terror episodes featured confused behaviors, motor activity, and absent or fragmented recall. Polysomnography documented arousals from slow wave sleep in 9 of 10 patients. All of the original patients reported psychiatric symptoms. All 6 patients who received the subsequent structured evaluation met lifetime criteria for Axis I conditions (most commonly affective and substance use disorders) and had elevated scores on the personality scales of the MCMI-II. Night terrors were not limited to psychiatric episodes. CONCLUSION: Night terrors occur in adults that are similar to episodes described in children. While distinct from sleep panic attacks, night terrors appear to occur in adults with histories of psychopathology.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Interictal electroencephalography in night terrors and somnambulism.

Night terrors and somnambulism (NTS) are defined as disorders of arousal occurring in children during Stage 3 to 4 of NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. In this study, the interictal EEG recordings in 35 neurologically normal children with clinical NTS were studied. Sixteen children (47%) had disturbed records including: localized slow, spike or sharp wave activity; generalized bursts of high voltage, sharp waves, spikes and slow delta activity or spike and wave complexes; and episodic high-voltage delta activity during wakeful rest. This percentage represents half the incidence of interictal EEG abnormalities in childhood epilepsy, but far greater than the 10 to 15% found in healthy children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Night terrors and sudden unexplained nocturnal death.

A high incidence of sudden unexplained nocturnal deaths has been reported among young Asian males. These deaths are known as Pokkuri in Japan, Bangungut in the Philippines and Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death in the United States. Post mortem analysis has demonstrated cardiac conduction defects in many of the victims. Careful review of the terminal events surrounding these deaths suggests that the victims suffered from night terrors. Night terrors are a sleep disorder characterized by vocalization, motor activity, a nonarousable state, and severe autonomic discharge. The proposed recognition of both night terrors and cardiac anomalies in these patients offers a pathophysiologic mechanism for their sudden death.

Asia↗
PubMed1991

Simultaneous prepubertal onset of panic disorder, night terrors, and somnambulism.

Concurrent acute onset of night terrors, somnambulism, and spontaneous daytime panic attacks meeting the criteria for panic disorder is reported in a 10-year-old boy with a family history of panic disorder. Both the parasomnias and the panic disorder were fully responsive to therapeutic doses of imipramine. A second case of night terrors and infrequent full symptom panic attacks is noted in another 10-year-old boy whose mother has panic disorder with agoraphobia. The clinical resemblance and reported differences between night terrors and panic attacks are described. The absence of previous reports of this comorbidity is notable. It is hypothesized that night terror disorder and panic disorder involve a similar constitutional vulnerability to dysregulation of brainstem altering systems.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1980

Hereditary factors in sleepwalking and night terrors.

The families of 25 probands with sleepwalking and 27 probands with night terrors were studied. Eighty per cent of the sleepwalking pedigrees and 96 per cent of the night terror pedigrees included one or more individuals, other than the proband, who were affected by sleepwalking, night terrors, or both. Our data appear to fit a 'two threshold' multifactorial mode of inheritance. This finding supports the hypothesis that sleepwalking and night terrors share a common genetic predisposition, with sleepwalking being a more prevalent and less severe manifestation of the same substrate that underlies night terrors. Heritable factors predispose an individual to develop sleepwalking and/or night terrors, but expression of the trait may be influenced by environmental factors.

Female↗
PubMed1980

Night terrors. Clinical characteristics and personality patterns.

The development and clinical course of night terrors and the personality patterns of patients with this disorder were evaluated in 40 adults who had a current complaint of night terrors. Compared with a group of adult sleepwalkers, the patients with night terrors had a later age of onset for their disorder, a higher frequency of events, and an earlier time of night for the occurrence of episodes. Both groups had high levels of psychopathology, with higher values for the night terror group. This sleepwalkers showed active, outwardly directed behavioral patterns, whereas the night terror patients showed an inhibition of outward expressions of aggression and a predominance of anxiety, depression, tendencies obsessive-compulsive/, and phobicness. Although night terrors and sleepwalking in childhood seem to be related primarily to genetic and developmental factors, their persistence and especially their onset in adulthood are found to be related more to psychological factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Night terrors: strategies for family coping.

This article discusses the occurrence of night terrors (parvor nocturnus) in children. The characteristics of a typical night terror incident are described, as are the common parental reactions to such frightening events. Nurses who work with children and families need to know about the etiology and clinical course of night terrors. They need to be able to differentiate night terrors from other sleep disturbances and determine possible ways to alleviate the occurrences. This article emphasizes assessment, anticipatory guidance, education, and counseling. A practical guide for parents is included to provide families with information on ways to cope with night terrors.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

Psychotherapy with night-terror patients.

This is the first report of the effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating adult night-terror patients. Night terrors were eliminated or drastically reduced in two patients who completed psychotherapy. A third patient discontinued therapy and showed no improvement. Thus, the primary role of psychopathology in the production of night terrors in adulthood was illustrated.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The treatment of childhood night terrors through the use of hypnosis--a case study: a brief communication.

Night terrors are nocturnal episodes of intense autonomic arousal which are manifested by loud shouting or screaming in terror. The sufferer is not awake and is generally completely amnestic for the episodes. Night terrors and other sleep disturbances, such as somnambulism, are disorders of arousal (Broughton, 1968; Fisher, Kahn, Edwards, & Davis, 1973; Guilleminault, 1987). A 10-year-old white male was treated for a 6-year-long bout of night terrors. The hypnotic induction consisted of the finger lowering technique where the middle 2 fingers were raised and the individual was asked to watch the fingers as they "go to sleep." He was given suggestions for dropping off to sleep gradually and for rotating cycles of sleep. The regularity and continual movement of the cycles of sleep were emphasized. He was also given direct suggestions for not dropping too quickly into an extremely deep stage of sleep. He has not had a recurrence of night terrors since that time (approximately 2 years). Psychodynamic issues are discussed as is the need for further research.

Arousal↗
PubMed2005

Sleepwalking and night terrors: psychopathological and psychophysiological correlates.

Sleepwalking and night terrors are considered to be manifestations of the same nosologic continuum. It has been proposed that a sudden arousal from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is the cause of these disorders. Benign forms of NREM arousal parasomnias occur frequently in childhood and attenuate in teen years; however, they can persist into or begin in adulthood. The available literature documents high levels of psychopathology in adult patients. Sleepwalking and night terrors are most likely to manifest during the first episode of slow wave sleep, but may also appear any time during NREM sleep. The hypersynchronous delta activity, previously considered to be a hallmark of somnambulism, has proven to be unspecific. Post-arousal EEG activity reveals altered consciousness during sleepwalking and sleep terror episodes. Pathophysiology of NREM arousal parasomnias consists of predisposing factors, which may be a genetically determined tendency for deep sleep, facilitating factors which deepen sleep and increase slow wave sleep, and triggering factors which increase sleep fragmentation, such as stress, environmental or endogenous stimuli, and stimulants. Recently published data on low delta power in the first sleep cycle and slow decline of delta power in successive sleep cycles suggest a chronic inability to sustain slow wave sleep.

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed1980

Sleepwalking and night terrors in adulthood clinical EEG findings.

This is the first controlled study to show a lack of relation between a positive history of sleepwalking or night terrors in adults and daytime EEG abnormalities. We recorded a standard clinical EEG on 35 adult sleepwalkers (SW), 35 adult night terror patients (NT), and 35 control subjects (CS). Three subjects in the SW group showed abnormalities: one during both the resting record (RR) and hyperventilation (HV), and two only during HV. None in the NT group showed any EEG abnormality. Two control subjects showed abnormalities of both RR and HV, and a third only during HV. The number of abnormal EEGs within each group was limited, and the three groups did not significantly differ from one another. Our results suggest that the daytime clinical EEG is of limited value in evaluating adults with the primary complaint of sleepwalking or night terrors. However, further all-night sleep EEG studies utilizing clinical montage are needed to investigate the temporal relationship of sleepwalking and night terror events to possible EEG abnormalities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Night terrors, sleepwalking, and confusional arousals in the general population: their frequency and relationship to other sleep and mental disorders.

BACKGROUND: Arousal parasomnias (night terrors, sleepwalking, and confusional arousals) have seldom been investigated in the adult general population. Clinical studies of parasomnias, however, show that these disorders may be indicators of underlying mental disorders and may have serious consequences. METHOD: A representative sample of the United Kingdom population (N = 4972) was interviewed by telephone with the Sleep-EVAL system. RESULTS: Night terrors were reported by 2.2% (95% CI = 1.8% to 2.6%) of the sample, sleepwalking by 2.0% (1.6% to 2.4%), and confusional arousals by 4.2% (3.6% to 4.8%). The rate of these 3 parasomnias decreased significantly with age, but no gender difference was observed. Multivariate models identified the following independent factors as associated with confusional arousals (odds ratio [OR]): age of 15-24 years (OR = 4.1), shift work (OR = 2.1), hypnagogic hallucinations (OR = 3.3), deep sleep (OR = 1.6), daytime sleepiness (OR = 1.9), sleep talking (OR = 1.7), daily smoking (OR = 1.7), adjustment disorder (OR = 3.1), and bipolar disorder (OR = 13.0). Factors associated with night terrors were subjective sense of choking or blocked breathing at night (OR = 5.1), obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OR = 4.1), alcohol consumption at bedtime (OR = 3.9), violent or injury-causing behaviors during sleep (OR = 3.2), hypnagogic hallucinations (OR = 2.2), and nightmares at least 1 night per month (OR = 4.0). Factors associated with sleepwalking were age of 15-24 years (OR = 5.2), subjective sense of choking or blocked breathing at night (OR = 5.1), sleep talking (OR = 5.0), and a road accident in the past year (OR = 3.9) after controlling for possible effects of sleep deprivation, life stress, and mental and sleep disorders. CONCLUSION: Arousal parasomnias, especially night terrors and confusional arousals, are often the expression of a mental disorder. Other life or medical conditions, such as shift work or excessive need of sleep for confusional arousals and stressful events for sleepwalking, may also trigger parasomnias. Prevalence rates are based on self-reported data and, consequently, are likely underestimated.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Habituation of orienting reaction in night terrors.

A polygraphic study on resistance to habituation of the somatic (EMG), autonomic (finger vasoconstriction, galvanic skin reaction, respiration, pulse) and EEG (acoustic-evoked potential, EEG-blocking reaction) components of the orienting reaction elicited by a repetitive auditory stimulus was performed in 36 patients with night terrors and in 72 matched subjects in two control groups. The study evidenced a significantly higher resistance to habituation of the orienting reaction in patients with night terrors than in normal subjects (control group I) but significantly lower than in patients with symptomatic epilepsy (control group II). The severity of these habituation disturbances in patients with night terrors depended on the patients' age, the history of nocturnal events and their clinical form, as well as on the etiology of episodes. The habituation changes found in patients with night terrors may be ascribed to the nervous disorders of functional and/or organic nature which generated also the night terrors episodes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Orienting reaction in patients with night terrors.

A polygraphic study of the somatic (electromyogram), autonomic (finger plethysmogram, galvanic skin reaction, respiration, pulse), and electroencephalographic (acoustic-evoked potential and EEG-blocking reaction) components of the orienting reaction elicited by an auditory stimulus was performed in 36 patients with night terrors and in 72 matched subjects in two control groups. The study showed a significantly more intense orienting reaction in patients with night terrors than in normal subjects (Control Group I). Moreover, the orienting reaction intensity in subjects with night terrors was significantly lower than in patients with symptomatic epilepsy (Control Group II). The orienting reactions of patients with night terrors depended on the patient's age, the history of nocturnal episodes, and their clinical form, as well as on etiology.

Adolescent↗