Rapid eye movements during paradoxical sleep in patients with cerebrovascular disease.

Rapid eye movements that occur during paradoxical sleep are generated from the brainstem and are modulated by cerebral hemispheres. In an attempt to establish the participation of cerebral hemispheres on rapid eye movements, we carried out a quantitative study of eye movements density in patients bearing hemispheres vascular lesions. The polysomnographic recordings of 24 patients were compared to those of 24 healthy volunteers. Density of rapid eye movements was defined as the percentage of eye movements during the respective time of paradoxical sleep. Based on the present results, we concluded that: stroke patients with hemispheric lesions displayed increased density of rapid eye movements; there was no difference on the density of rapid eye movements according to the hemispheric lesion; higher density of rapid eye movements was observed in patients with anterior hemispheric lesion.