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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1976

[Etiology and pathogenesis of somnambulism].

The problem of somnambulism is discussed in this paper by reference to the present state of research in this field. A complex of conditions is assumed to underly sleep-walking and be triggered by various factors. Psychic or organic moments may trigger somnambulance if there exists a readiness for this form of reaction. The corpus striatum is assumed to control the overall coordination of stereotypic motor movements, which is made an independently functioning subsystem by certain states of tension in the central nervous system.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Treatment of somnambulism in military trainees.

Of 12 otherwise health individuals facing honorable discharge from the military because of intractable sleepwalking, six chose to participate in a short-term treatment program involving hypnosis. Four of these reported total alleviation of symptoms. Therapeutic design and treatment implications are discussed and a brief review of the literature is presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

[Sleep in children with episodic sleep phenomena: a comparison with the normal child].

(1) The sleep pattern of 23 children, aged 5-12 years, with episodic nocturnal phenomena (night-terrors, somnambulism, rhythmic movements) was recorded during two successive nights. It was compared with that of a group of 21 normal children of the same age. (2) In the pathological group, slow wave sleep (SLP, stages 3 and 4) was significantly shortened during the 2 nights. This deficit mainly involved the first 3h of sleep. (3) As for the slow wave sleep, REM sleep (SP) modifications prevailed during the first hours of sleep. The first REM period was delayed and preceded by more numerous and atypical partial REM periods. The duration of the first REM period increased faster as a function of its latency than in the normal child. (4) In contrast with this difficulty for REM sleep to occur during the first part of the night, the subsequent REM sleep pattern was similar in the 2 groups (total REM sleep duration, mean REM period duration, mean REM cycle duration). For equal latencies, REM periods had similar duration. Finally, the total REM sleep amount was a linear function of the total sleep time, with more or less identical coefficients for the two groups. (5) The part played by these modifications during the first hours of sleep in the occurrence of night terrors and somnambulism is discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1977

Episodic nocturnal wanderings responsive to anticonvulsant drug therapy.

Six patients between the ages of 17 and 32 years presented with unusual sleep-walking epidodes characterized by screaming or unintelligible vocalizations; complex, often violent automatisms; and ambulation. Two or more attacks could occur in a single night and were most common in the early morning hours. Family and personal histories did not show epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, or (with 1 exception) previous somnambulism. Electrographic investigation revealed that all patients had normal waking-sleep cycles but that 4 of them had epileptiform abnormalities on their electroencephalograms. All patients were treated with either phenytoin or carbamazepine, with cessation of the abnormal nocturnal behavior during follow-up periods ranging from 9 to 48 months. This syndrome appears to be distinct from more typical non-rapid eye movement dyssomnias and suggests an atypical form of epilepsy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Sleep and hypnotic drugs.

In recent years the effectiveness of hypnotic drugs has had to be assessed in terms of a greatly increased knowledge of the physiology and pathology of sleep. The normal pattern of sleep and wakefulness involves a cyclic alternation between three rather than two basically dissimilar states of the brain and body - alert wakefulness, rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep. The pattern of this alternation in individual people results from the interaction of many influences - biological (including genetic, early developmental and later degenerative influences), psychological, social and environmental factors, various physical and psychiatric disorders, and most drugs which affect the central nervous system. The quality of sleep is not related in any simple or constant manner either to its duration or to the proprotions of time spent in each stage of sleep. Among the disorders of sleep, insomnia is a far more common problem of medical management than are enuresis, narcolepsy, somnambulism or nightmares. With a few exceptions, most hypnotic drugs now in widespread use cease to be effective in treating insomnia after the first few nights. However, the ineffective treatment is often continued because insomnia will be even worse during the initial period of drug withdrawal. These factors and the toxicity of hypnotic drugs when taken in overdose make the long-term treatment of insomnia more difficult than was previously supposed. Barbiturates should no longer be prescribed. Some of the non-barbiturates, such as glutethimide and methaqualone, have no advantage over the barbiturates. The benzodiazepine hypnotics, nitrazepam and flurazepam, are less toxic in overdose and are relatively effective in treating insomnia. Chloral hydrate and its derivates are useful alternative drugs for short-term use. Measures to improve sleep without drugs deserve greater emphasis than they have had in the past.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Nocturnal psychophysiological correlates of somatic conditions and sleep disorders.

Modern sleep research studies have provided the practicing physician with considerable new information concerning the basic psychophysiology of sleep, the effects of medical conditions on sleep and the role of maturational and emotional factors in producing certain sleep disorders. Medical and psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders and drug-induced sleep stage alterations are studied in the sleep laboratory using the same techniques developed to analyze sleep patterns in normal subjects. After initial sleep laboratory adaptation, a profile of the sleep characteristics of various clinical conditions is obtained. This profile can be compared to sleep profiles of normal subjects as well as to the effects on sleep of subsequent experimental or therapeutic procedures. Various studies have shown that coronary artery, duodenal ulcer and nocturnal headache patients experience angina, increased gastric acid secretion and migraine or cluster headaches, respectively during REM sleep. Adult nocturnal asthamtic episodes occur out of all sleep stages while attacks of dyspnea in asthmatic children occur in all stages except stage 4 sleep. Hypothyroid patients show decreases in stages 3 and 4 sleep, while in hyperthyroid patients the percentage of time spent in stages 3 and 4 sleep is markedly increased. Enuretic episodes occur predominantly in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Sleepwalking and night terror episodes occur exclusively out of NREM sleep, particularly from stages 3 and 4 sleep. Most child somnambulists and children with night terrors "outgrow" this disorder, suggesting a delayed maturation of the central nervous system. Stimulant drugs are effective in the treatment of the sleep attacks of narcolepsy and in treating certain cases of hypersomnia, while imipramine is an effective treatment for the auxillary symptoms of narcolepsy. Psychological disturbances are frequent in adult somnambulism and night terrors as well as in hypersomnia and insomnia. Proper pharmacologic treatment to provide symptomatic relief for insomnia is recommended to enhance the psychotherapeutic process.

Asthma↗
PubMed1992

Murder during sleep-walking.

The issue of criminal responsibility is no easy matter to resolve at times. One such instance is offered by the case of the sleep walker who commits a violent act in the course of his sleep. However, sleep-walking disorder has not received much professional attention. In this article the author reports one case of sleep-waking disorder (Somnambulism) in which murder was committed in cold blood.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

[Disorders of the sleep-wakefulness function].

Disorders of sleep belong to the most frequent troubles. A lot of different factors may contribute to the pathogenesis of sleep disorders. Modern sleep research has opened important views into the structure of sleep and the pathophysiology of sleep disorders. In a narrower sense sleep disorders mean a deficiency of sleep (hyposomnia). This may concern the induction of sleep or its maintenance. Sleep disorders without underlying disease may be differentiated from those caused by different diseases. Hypersomnia may occur as a symptom of various cerebral dysfunctions and processes, as an episodic disorder (Kleine-Levin-syndrome) or as a part of the Pickwick-syndrome. In narcolepsy characteristic symptoms are sleep attacks, kataplexy (emotionally induced loss of muscle tone) and transient pareses during awakening. Disturbances linked with sleep are snoring, somnambulism, speaking and grinding of the teeth during sleep and nocturnal enuresis. They may constitute idiopathic disorders. On the other hand, there may be similarities between epileptic phenomena and these disorders. Some epilepsies demonstrate relations to the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness which become evident in the manifestation of seizures and epileptiform EEG activity at certain stages of vigilance.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1977

Imipramine and children: a review and some speculations about the mechanism of drug action.

Although the FDA recommends imipramine hydrochloride (IMI) only for temporary relief of symptoms of enuresis nocturna (EN), the drug has been applied to a number of other pediatric situations, including the Hyperkinetic Syndrome (HS), childhood depression, somnambulism and pavor nocturnus, school phobia, petit mal epilepsy, allergies, autism, encorpresis and head-banging. We have reviewed the literature, with particular attention to the pharmacokinetics of IMI in children, and its putative mechanisms of action. The drug probably works through a number of different actions, and the futher delineation of these will be of considerable heuristic value. We review the toxic effects of IMI treatment and IMI poisoning in children, and the pediatric literature concerning other antidepressant drugs and lithium carbonate (Li).

Adolescent↗