STUDY OBJECTIVES: Arousal parasomnias are expressions of sleep/ wake state dissociations in which wakefulness and NREM sleep seem to coexist. We describe the results of a neurophysiological (intracerebral EEG) investigation that captured an episode of confusional arousal. DESIGN: Observational analysis. SETTING: Tertiary sleep center. SUBJECT: A 20-year-old male with refractory focal epilepsy. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The intracerebral EEG findings documented the presence of a local arousal of the motor and cingulate cortices associated with increased delta activity in the frontoparietal associative cortices; these findings were noted preceding the onset and persisting throughout the episode. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of dissociated sleep/wake states in confusional arousals is the expression not of a global phenomenon, but rather of the coexistence of different local states of being: arousal of the motor and cingulate cortices and inhibition of the associative ones. Whether this is an exclusive feature of NREM parasomnias, or a common substrate on which other triggering elements act, needs to be clarified.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: Arousal parasomnias are expressions of sleep/ wake state dissociations in which wakefulness and NREM sleep seem to coexist. We describe the results of a neurophysiological (intracerebral EEG) investigation that captured an episode of confusional arousal. DESIGN: Observational analysis. SETTING: Tertiary sleep center. SUBJECT: A 20-year-old male with refractory focal epilepsy. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The intracerebral EEG findings documented the presence of a local arousal of the motor and cingulate cortices associated with increased delta activity in the frontoparietal associative cortices; these findings were noted preceding the onset and persisting throughout the episode. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of dissociated sleep/wake states in confusional arousals is the expression not of a global phenomenon, but rather of the coexistence of different local states of being: arousal of the motor and cingulate cortices and inhibition of the associative ones. Whether this is an exclusive feature of NREM parasomnias, or a common substrate on which other triggering elements act, needs to be clarified.
Authors: C A Tassinari; G Rubboli; E Gardella; G Cantalupo; G Calandra-Buonaura; M Vedovello; M Alessandria; G Gandini; S Cinotti; N Zamponi; S Meletti Journal: Neurol Sci Date: 2005-12 Impact factor: 3.307
Authors: Anna Castelnovo; Brady A Riedner; Richard F Smith; Giulio Tononi; Melanie Boly; Ruth M Benca Journal: Sleep Date: 2016-10-01 Impact factor: 5.849