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Somnambulism, also called sleepwalking, classified as a non-rapid eye movement sleep parasomnia, encompasses a range of abnormal paroxysmal behaviors, leading to sleepwalking in dissociated sleep in an altered state of consciousness with impaired judgment and configuring a kind of hierarchical continuum with confusional arousal and night terror. Despite being generally regarded as a benign condition, its potential severity entails social, personal, and even forensic consequences. This comprehensive review provides an overview on the current state of knowledge, elucidating the phenomenon of somnambulism and encompassing its clinical manifestations and diagnostic approaches., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nocturnal agitation refers to a broad spectrum of symptoms from simple movements to aggressive behaviors with partial or complete loss of awareness. An accurate identification of its etiology is critical for appropriate therapeutic intervention. In children and young adults, distinguishing between non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep parasomnias and psychogenic non-parasomniac manifestations, a condition known as sleep-related dissociative disorder (SRDD), can be challenging. This review aims to summarize current clinical, neurophysiological, and epidemiological knowledge on NREM parasomnia and SRDD, and to present the pathophysiological hypotheses underlying these nocturnal manifestations. Sleepwalking, sleep terror and confusional arousals are the three main presentations of NREM parasomnias and share common clinical characteristics. Parasomniac episodes generally occur 30minutes to three hours after sleep-onset, they are usually short, lasting no more than few minutes and involve non-stereotyped, clumsy behaviors with frequent amnesia. The prevalence of NREM parasomnia decreases from 15-30% in children to 2-4% in adults. Parasomniac episodes are incomplete awakening from the deepest NREM sleep and are characterized by a dissociated brain activity, with a wake-like activation in motor and limbic structures and a preserved sleep in the fronto-parietal regions. SRDD is a less known condition characterized by dramatic, often very long episodes with frequent aggressive and potentially dangerous behaviors. SRDD episodes frequently occur in quiet wakefulness before falling asleep. These dissociative manifestations are frequently observed in the context of psychological trauma. The pathophysiology of SRDD is poorly understood but could involve transient changes in brain connectivity due to labile sleep-wake boundaries in predisposed individuals. We hypothesize that SRDD and NREM parasomnia are forms of sleep-related dissociative states favored by a sleep-wake state dissociation during sleep-onset and awakening process, respectively., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Arousal Disorders (DoA) include Confusional Arousals, Sleepwalking and Sleep Terrors. DoA diagnosis is mainly clinical but no validated questionnaires exist for DoA screening according to the criteria of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition. Recently our group proposed the Arousal Disorders Questionnaire (ADQ) as a new diagnostic tool for DoA diagnosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the ADQ in a sleep and epilepsy center., Methods: One interviewer blinded to clinical and video-polysomnographic (VPSG) data administered the ADQ to 150 patients consecutively admitted to our Sleep and Epilepsy Centers for a follow-up visit. The final diagnosis, according to VPSG recordings of at least one major episode, classified patients either with DoA (DoA group) or with other sleep-related motor behaviors confounding for DoA (nDoA group)., Results: 47 patients (31%) composed the DoA group; 56 patients with REM sleep behavior disorder, 39 with sleep-hypermotor epilepsy, six with night eating syndrome, and two with drug-induced DoA composed the nDoA group. The ADQ had a sensitivity of 72% (95% CI: 60-82) and a specificity of 96% (95% CI: 89-98) for DoA diagnosis; excluding the items regarding consciousness and episode recall, sensitivity was 83% (95% CI: 71-90) and specificity 93% (95% CI: 86-97)., Conclusions: The ADQ showed good accuracy in screening patients with DoA in a sleep and epilepsy center setting. Diagnostic criteria related to cognition and episode recall reduced ADQ sensitivity, therefore a better definition of these criteria is required, especially in adults., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To highlight the slow-wave sleep (SWS) fragmentation and validate the video-polysomnographic (vPSG) criteria and cutoffs for the diagnosis of disorders of arousal (DOA) in children, as already reported in adults., Methods: One hundred children (66 boys, 11.0 ± 3.3 years) with frequent episodes of DOA and 50 nonparasomniac children (32 boys, 10.9 ± 3.9 years) underwent vPSG recording to quantify SWS characteristics (number of N3 sleep interruptions, fragmentation index, slow/mixed and fast arousal ratios, and indexes per hour) and associated behaviors. We compared SWS characteristics in the 2 groups and defined the optimal cutoff values for the diagnosis of DOA using receiver operating characteristic curves., Results: Patients with DOA had higher amounts of N3 and REM sleep, number of N3 interruptions, SWS fragmentation, and slow/mixed arousal indexes than controls. The highest area under the curve (AUC) values were obtained for SWS fragmentation and slow/mixed arousal indexes with satisfactory classification performances (AUC 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.73-0.87; AUC 0.82, 95% CI 0.75-0.89). SWS fragmentation index cutoff value of 4.1/h reached a sensitivity of 65.0% and a specificity of 84.0%. Slow/mixed arousal index cutoff of 3.8/h reached a sensitivity of 69.0% and a specificity of 82.0%. At least one parasomniac episode was recorded in 63.0% of patients and none of the controls. Combining behavioral component by vPSG increased sensitivity of both biomarkers to 83% and 89%, respectively., Conclusions: We confirmed that SWS fragmentation and slow/mixed arousal indexes are 2 relevant biomarkers for the diagnosis of DOA in children, with different cutoffs obtained than those validated in adults., Classification of Evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that SWS fragmentation and slow/mixed arousal indexes on vPSG accurately identify children with DOA., (© 2020 American Academy of Neurology.)

Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors and/or experiences emanating from or associated with sleep typically manifesting as motor movements of varying semiology. We discuss mainly nonrapid eye movement sleep and related parasomnias in this article. Sleepwalking (SW), sleep terrors (ST), confusional arousals, and related disorders result from an incomplete dissociation of wakefulness from nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Conditions that provoke repeated cortical arousals, and/or promote sleep inertia, lead to NREM parasomnias by impairing normal arousal mechanisms. Changes in the cyclic alternating pattern, a biomarker of arousal instability in NREM sleep, are noted in sleepwalking disorders. Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is characterized by a disruption of the nocturnal fast with episodes of feeding after arousal from sleep. SRED is often associated with the use of sedative-hypnotic medications, in particular the widely prescribed benzodiazepine receptor agonists. Compelling evidence suggests that nocturnal eating may in some cases be another nonmotor manifestation of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). Initial management should focus upon decreasing the potential for sleep-related injury followed by treating comorbid sleep disorders and eliminating incriminating drugs. Sexsomnia is a subtype of disorders of arousal, where sexual behavior emerges from partial arousal from nonREM sleep. Overlap parasomnia disorders consist of abnormal sleep-related behavior both in nonREM and REM sleep. Status dissociatus is referred to as a breakdown of the sleep architecture where an admixture of various sleep state markers is seen without any specific demarcation. Benzodiazepine therapy can be effective in controlling SW, ST, and sexsomnia, but not SRED. Paroxetine has been reported to provide benefit in some cases of ST. Topiramate, pramipexole, and sertraline can be effective in SRED. Pharmacotherapy for other parasomnias continues to be less certain, necessitating further investigation. NREM parasomnias may resolve spontaneously but require a review of priming and predisposing factors.

Purpose: Disorders of arousal include confusional arousals, sleepwalking and sleep terrors. The diagnosis of disorders of arousal is based on the clinical criteria established in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, third edition, although the interobserver reliability of these criteria has never been investigated. The aim of this study was to estimate the inter-rater reliability of the diagnostic criteria for disorders of arousal throughout the whole life in order to understand their feasibility in clinical daily activity and in multicenter observational studies., Methods: Three raters interviewed 126 subjects (patients complaining of sleep disorders, headache, and healthy subjects), aged 18-80 years, with a standardized questionnaire created by applying the International Diagnostic Criteria for Disorders of Arousal., Results: An "almost perfect" inter-rater reliability for disorders of arousal criteria and the final diagnosis was found among the raters (kappa 0.89 for confusional arousals, 0.87 for sleepwalking, and 0.87 for sleep terrors)., Conclusions: The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition criteria are adequate for a reliable diagnosis of disorders of arousal. Further validation studies, confirming DOA diagnosis with video polysomnography, are needed to investigate the predictive value of ICSD-3 criteria.

Given the recent evidence on the association between hyperarousal in insomnia disorder and neurocognitive deficits, we aimed to examine the effect of short sleep duration on neurocognitive reaction time tests in insomnia disorder sufferers. We recruited subjects with insomnia disorder (n = 35, mean age = 40.6 years) who scored ≥29 on a Hyperarousal Scale, and a group of controls (n = 54, mean age = 31.5 years) who had no sleep disorders and scored <26 on the Hyperarousal Scale. Participants completed two in-home polysomnograms and four daytime trials of neurocognitive tests, including simple reaction time, choice reaction time, big circle-little circle, rapid visual information processing, attention switching task, and spatial working memory tests. Total sleep time divided study cohorts into subgroups of short (total sleep time <6 hr) and normal (total sleep time ≥6 hr) sleepers. ANCOVA showed a significant interaction between participant type (insomnia disorder versus controls) and sleep duration (short versus normal) for spatial working memory-latency (p = 0.020) and spatial working memory-errors (p = 0.025). The short-sleeping insomnia disorder group had longer spatial working memory-latencies and more spatial working memory-errors than did normal-sleeping controls. Regardless of sleep duration, those with insomnia disorder had more attentional deficits with longer attention switching task-latency (p = 0.011) and more attention switching task-incorrect trials (p = 0.015) than the control group. Normal-sleepers only had longer attention switching task-latency than short-sleepers (p = 0.004). A phenotype of insomnia disorder with hyperarousal and short sleep duration is associated with daytime cognitive deficits in complex attentional and spatial working memory tasks., (© 2018 European Sleep Research Society.)

Enuresis (intermittent urinary incontinence during sleep in a child aged ≥ 5 years) is commonly seen in paediatric practice. Despite the availability of effective interventions, treatment resistance is encountered in up to 50% of children. In this educational review we attempt to provide insight into the causes of treatment resistance, and offer practical suggestions for addressing this condition using an interprofessional approach. We explore the pathophysiology of and standard treatments for enuresis and discuss why standard treatments may fail. An interprofessional approach to treatment resistance is proposed which utilises the expertise of professionals from different disciplines to address the problems and barriers to treatment. The two interprofessional approaches include a multidisciplinary approach that involves the patient being sent to experts in different disciplines at different times to address their treatment resistance utilising the skills of the respective experts, and an interdisciplinary approach that involves a patient being managed by members of interdisciplinary team who integrate their separate discipline perspectives into a single treatment plan. Although an interdisciplinary approach is ideal, interdisciplinary teams may not be available in all circumstances. Understanding the roles of other disciplines and engaging clinicians from other disciplines when appropriate can still be helpful when treatment resistance is encountered.

Study Objectives: Confusional arousals (CA) are characterized by the association of behavioral awakening with persistent slow-wave electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep-suggesting that sensorimotor areas are "awake" while non-sensorimotor areas are still "asleep." In the present work, we aimed to study the precise temporo-spatial dynamics of EEG changes in cortical areas during CA using intracerebral recordings., Methods: Nineteen episodes of CA were selected in five drug-resistant epileptic patients suffering incidentally from arousal disorders. Spectral power of EEG signal recorded in 30 non-lesioned, non-epileptogenic cortical areas and thalamus was compared between CA and baseline slow-wave sleep., Results: Clear sequential modifications in EEG activity were observed in almost all studied areas. In the last few seconds before behavior onset, an increase in delta activity occurred predominantly in frontal regions. Behavioral arousal was associated with an increase of signal power in the whole studied frequency band in the frontal lobes, cingulate cortex, insular cortex, and precuneus. Afterwards, a diffuse cessation of very low frequencies (<1 Hz) occurred. Simultaneously, a hypersynchronous delta activity (HSDA) (1-1.5 Hz) arose in a broad network involving medial and lateral frontoparietal cortices, whereas higher frequency activities increased in sensorimotor, orbitofrontal, and temporal lateral cortices. This HSDA was predominantly observed in the inferior frontal gyrus., Conclusions: During CA, the level of activity changed in almost all the studied areas. The embedding of a broad frontoparietal network, especially the inferior frontal gyrus, in an HSDA might explain the participants' altered state of consciousness.

Purpose of Review: This article reviews the spectrum of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep parasomnias, including sleepwalking, confusional arousals, and sleep terrors, which represent the range of phenotypic disorders of arousal from non-REM sleep that occurs in children and adults., Recent Findings: The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition (ICSD-3) classifies parasomnias according to the sleep stage they emerge from: REM, non-REM, or other. Demographics, clinical features, and diagnosis of non-REM parasomnias are reviewed in this article, and an up-to-date synopsis of guidelines for management strategies to assist in the treatment of these sleep disorders is provided., Summary: The non-REM parasomnias are most common in children and adolescents but may persist into adulthood. They can be distinguishable from REM parasomnias and nocturnal epilepsies, and, importantly, may lead to injury. Additionally, other parasomnias in this spectrum include sleep-related eating disorder and sexsomnia. Overlap parasomnia disorder includes one or more manifestations of a non-REM parasomnia seen in combination with REM sleep behavior disorder, representing an apparent erosion of the normally distinct stages of non-REM and REM sleep. A similar yet much more extreme dissociation of states underlies agrypnia excitata and status dissociatus, which represent rare, severe dissociations between non-REM, REM, and wake states resulting clinically in oneiric behaviors and severe derangement of normal polysomnographic wake and sleep stage characteristics. Management of non-REM and overlap parasomnias and state dissociation disorders include ensuring bedroom safety and prescription of clonazepam or hypnosis, in select cases, although in children and adolescents with noninjurious behaviors, non-REM parasomnias are often age-limited developmental disorders, which may ultimately remit by adulthood, and, in these cases, counseling and education alone may suffice. Timely and accurate recognition of the non-REM and overlap parasomnias is crucial to limiting potential patient injury.

Delirium is common in acute, postacute, and long-term care settings, and it can be difficult to recognize, especially without deliberate mental status evaluation. Because delirium typically presents with altered arousal and arousal can be assessed within a matter of seconds, routine assessment of arousal offers an efficient means of delirium screening. Nevertheless, impaired arousal often precludes formal assessment of attention and awareness, the cardinal features of delirium per the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Here we debate the relative merits of "ruling in" as delirious noncomatose patients with impaired arousal (inclusive approach) vs reserving delirium diagnosis to patients in whom diagnostic criteria can be elicited (restrictive approach). Inclusivism provides efficiency and may prevent missing or delaying delirium diagnosis. The restrictive approach challenges the utility of ruling such patients in as delirious and advocates for identifying mental states that directly inform clinical care. Both positions, however, firmly emphasize the value of routine clinical assessment of arousal., (Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is very common in stroke survivors. It potentially worsens the cognitive dysfunction and inhibits their functional recovery. However, whether OSA independently damages the cognitive function in stroke patients is unclear. A simple method for evaluating OSA-induced cognitive impairment is also missing., Methods: Forty-four stroke patients six weeks after onset and 24 non-stroke patients with snoring were recruited for the polysomnographic study of OSA and sleep architecture. Their cognitive status was evaluated with a validated Chinese version of Cambridge Prospective Memory Test. The relationship between memory deficits and respiratory, sleeping, and dementia-related clinical variables were analyzed with correlation and multiple linear regression tests., Results: OSA significantly and independently damaged time- and event-based prospective memory in stroke patients, although it had less power than the stroke itself. The impairment of prospective memory was correlated with increased apnea-hypopnea index, decreased minimal and mean levels of peripheral oxygen saturation, and disrupted sleeping continuity (reduced sleep efficiency and increased microarousal index). The further regression analysis identified minimal levels of peripheral oxygen saturation and sleep efficiency to be the two most important predictors for the decreased time-based prospective memory in stroke patients., Conclusions: OSA independently contributes to the cognitive dysfunction in stroke patients, potentially through OSA-caused hypoxemia and sleeping discontinuity. The prospective memory test is a simple but sensitive method to detect OSA-induced cognitive impairment in stroke patients. Proper therapies of OSA might improve the cognitive function and increase the life quality of stroke patients., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The arousal index (AI) quantifies cortical arousal relative to total sleep time and is widely used to determine the severity of sleep fragmentation. It usually includes arousals secondary to respiratory events, limb movements, and spontaneous arousals. No systematic studies have been undertaken to determine AI cutoff in subjects with negative polysomnography., Methods: Three hundred fifty polysomnograms of subjects ≥18 years of age with no sleep disorders (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <5, periodic limb movement index (PLMI) <10, no upper airway resistance syndrome) or minimum oxygen saturation > 90 % and no comorbid health problems were reviewed., Results: Basic sleep architecture appears within normal range, except for increased stage N2 and decreased stage N3. AI significantly correlated with age (r = 0.7), sleep efficiency (r =-0.16), sleep latency (r = 0.14), rapid eye movement (REM) latency (r = 0.12), stage N1 (r = 0.15), stage N2 (r = 0.12), stage N3 (r = -0.27), AHI (r = 0.24), PLMI (r = 0.18), and nadir oxygen saturation (r = -0.17) [p < 0.05 for all]. A significant correlation was noted between age and sleep efficiency (r = -0.19), REM latency (r = 0.13), stage N1 (r = 0.16), stage N2 (r = 0.21), stage N3 (r = -0.39), and nadir oxygen saturation (r = -0.16) [p < 0.05 for all]. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age is only the independent predictor of AI (R (2) = 0.70, p < 0.01). The prediction equation for the arousal index in subject with negative polysomnography is AI = 0.276 × age (year) + 8.018., Conclusions: Age is the most important independent factor in predicting increasing AI in subjects with negative polysomnography.

Background: Patients with Huntington disease (HD) and their spouses often complain of agitation during sleep, but the causes are mostly unknown., Objective: To evaluate sleep and nocturnal movements in patients with various HD stages and CAG repeats length., Methods: The clinical features and sleep studies of 29 patients with HD were retrospectively collected (11 referred for genotype-phenotype correlations and 18 for agitation during sleep) and compared with those of 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All patients had videopolysomnography, but the movements during arousals were re-analyzed in six patients with HD with stored video., Results: The patients had a longer total sleep period and REM sleep onset latency, but no other differences in sleep than controls. There was no correlation between CAG repeat length and sleep measures, but total sleep time and sleep efficiency were lower in the subgroup with moderate than milder form of HD. Periodic limb movements and REM sleep behavior disorders were excluded, although 2/29 patients had abnormal REM sleep without atonia. In contrast, they had clumsy and opisthotonos-like movements during arousals from non-REM or REM sleep. Some movements were violent and harmful. They might consist of voluntary movements inappropriately involving the proximal part of the limbs on a background of exaggerated hypotonia. Giant (>65 mcV) sleep spindles were observed in seven (24%) patients with HD and one control., Conclusion: The nocturnal agitation in patients with HD seems related to anosognostic voluntary movements on arousals, rather than to REM sleep behavior disorder and other sleep problems., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

"Sleep sex," also known as sexsomnia, is a sleep disorder characterized by sexual behaviors committed while asleep. There has recently been increased interest in sexsomnia due to controversies arising in legal trials that have been widely publicized in the social and public media. This article attempts to marshal the current information about sexsomnia from the forensic literature and provides an overview of sexsomnia including common features, precipitating factors, prevalence rates, diagnostic procedures, and treatment. As sexsomnia represents a condition in which sexual acts are committed without awareness or intention, this paper also reviews the development of sexsomnia as a legal defense and summarizes Canadian case law on the topic. It provides an overview of the hurdles presented to defense attorneys attempting to utilize the defense and examines popular public notions surrounding the legitimacy of sexsomnia and the possibility of malingering. We conclude that sexsomnia is a legitimate sleep disorder for which case law now exists to support its use in legal defenses based on automatism. The question of whether it is an example of "sane" or "insane" automatism remains to be determined by the courts. Regardless of whether or not sexsomnia is determined to be a mental disorder by the courts, it is now a recognized and well-described sleep disorder that can be safely treated and managed by knowledgeable clinicians.

Background: Delirium is a common and serious problem among acutely unwell persons. Although linked to higher rates of mortality, institutionalisation and dementia, it remains underdiagnosed. Careful consideration of its phenomenology is warranted to improve detection and therefore mitigate some of its clinical impact. The publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5) provides an opportunity to examine the constructs underlying delirium as a clinical entity., Discussion: Altered consciousness has been regarded as a core feature of delirium; the fact that consciousness itself should be physiologically disrupted due to acute illness attests to its clinical urgency. DSM-5 now operationalises 'consciousness' as 'changes in attention'. It should be recognised that attention relates to content of consciousness, but arousal corresponds to level of consciousness. Reduced arousal is also associated with adverse outcomes. Attention and arousal are hierarchically related; level of arousal must be sufficient before attention can be reasonably tested., Summary: Our conceptualisation of delirium must extend beyond what can be assessed through cognitive testing (attention) and accept that altered arousal is fundamental. Understanding the DSM-5 criteria explicitly in this way offers the most inclusive and clinically safe interpretation.

Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) arousal sleep disorders (confusional arousal, somnambulism and sleep terror) are self-limiting and temporary phenomena which cannot be attributed to medical or psychiatric factors. However, very occasionally they can be the cause of unintentional injury to self or others. We describe the case of an 18-year-old who engaged in self-injurious behaviour while asleep. This behaviour could be attributed to confusional arousal.

Aim: To investigate whether or not infants exposed to methamphetamine prenatally have impaired arousal responses from sleep., Methods: The polygraphic nap studies involved 42 infants aged 3 months exposed to methamphetamine in utero and a comparison group of 57 infants. A proportion of mothers in both groups smoked cigarettes and/or marijuana and drank alcohol during pregnancy. White noise from 50 to 100 decibels (dB) was administered at 10 dB intervals twice within non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep states and arousal thresholds measured., Results: Combining groups, 306 tests were completed (128 and 178 within REM and NREM sleep, respectively) and infants were more likely to wake at lower thresholds in REM than NREM sleep (hazard ratio 5.58; 95% CI, 3.78-8.23 p < 0.0001). No significant differences in arousal threshold were found between methamphetamine and comparison groups, before or after controlling for other substance use (NREM sleep; 0.98, 95% CI, 0.60-1.59 and REM sleep; 1.03, 95% CI, 0.56-1.89)., Conclusions: These findings suggest that arousal responses of methamphetamine-exposed infants remain intact, providing no support for the hypothesis that prenatal exposure could increase their vulnerability to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) through arousal deficits., (©2012 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica ©2012 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.)

Nocturnal enuresis is one of the most common problems in childhood. In this article a standardized terminology for basic diagnostics additionally to extended diagnostics will be presented. Depending on the findings a specialized therapy can be performed. Besides drug therapy with antidiuretic hormone (ADH) sleep arousal devices can be used and the combination of both approaches also shows excellent results. At the end of therapy a protracted withdrawal shows better results than abrupt cessation.

Objectives: Nocturnal eating is a common symptom of two clinical conditions with different pathogenesis and needing different therapeutic approaches: Sleep Related Eating Disorder (SRED) and Night Eating Syndrome (NES). The first is considered a parasomnia while the second is an eating disorder; however, the distinction between SRED and NES is still a controversial matter. The aim of this study was to better define psychological, behavioral, and polysomnographic characteristics of the two syndromes., Methods: An eating disorders' specialist tested a group of 28 nocturnal eaters diagnosed as affected by SRED by a sleep expert, following the current criteria of the international classification of sleep disorders, to find out if any of them was affected by NES according to the criteria suggested by both sleep and eating disorders specialists during the first international meeting on Night Eating Syndrome (Minneapolis, 2009) and if they had specific psychological or polysomnographic characteristics., Results: Twenty-two subjects were diagnosed to be affected by NES. They scored higher on the physical tension subscale of the Sleep Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ) and on the mood and sleep subscale of the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), but there were no other significant differences between SRED and NES patients nor for age, Body Mass Index (BMI), or gender distribution., Conclusions: The overlap between the symptomatology and the polysomnographic characteristics of the two pathologies and the difficulty in making a differential diagnosis between NES and SRED indicate the need for an update of the diagnostic criteria for SRED, as was recently done for NES., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Conclusion: Nocturnal groaning has the same prevalence in patients referred for diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing as among other populations referred for sleep studies. The respiratory tracings in these patients have a distinct appearance that is possible to recognize with a polygraphic recording and thereby prevent the pattern from being misdiagnosed as central apneas., Objectives: The aim of this study was first to estimate the prevalence of groaning in patients referred for diagnosis of sleep-related breathing disorders. Second, we wanted to describe the respiratory pattern in order to distinguish the patients from patients with sleep apnea., Methods: This was a prospective study in 1004 patients, performed in the Sleep Unit in our ENT Department, during a 12 month period., Results: Four patients were diagnosed with video polysomnography, and the diagnosis of nocturnal groaning was confirmed. The prevalence of groaning in our sleep laboratory was 0.4%. All the patients had a mild form of sleep-related disturbance, and all groaning episodes occurred during REM sleep. The groaning events appeared in clusters. The length of each groan varied between 4 and 38 s. The number of events in a period varied between 2 and 11, and the length of each groaning period ranged between 11 and 168 s.

Arousal Disorders (AD) are motor behaviours arising from NREM sleep. They comprise a spectrum of manifestations of increasing complexity from confusional arousal to sleep terror to sleepwalking. AD usually appear in childhood with a low frequency of episodes and spontaneously disappear before adolescence. The advent of video-polysomnography disclosed the existence of other phenomena alongside AD, in particular nocturnal frontal lobe seizures, requiring a differential diagnosis from AD. History-taking is usually sufficient to establish a correct diagnosis of AD even though viewing the episodes is essential for the clinician to distinguish the different motor events. Videopolysomnographic recording in a sleep laboratory is not always necessary and homemade video-recordings are useful to capture events closest to real life episodes., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As each of the many parasomnias requires its own specific treatment, confusion between them can have serious consequences. By recognizing their distinctive features, misdiagnosis can be avoided and the appropriate management decided.

Purpose: Retrospective observations disclosed an overlap between parasomnias and nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) not only in patients but also in their relatives, suggesting a possible common pathogenetic mechanism. This study aimed to verify whether relatives of patients with NFLE have a higher frequency of parasomnias, namely arousal disorders, and thereby shed light on the still unknown pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying NFLE., Methods: We undertook a case-control family study in which we recruited NFLE probands and healthy controls, matched for age, sex, education, and geographic origin. At least four relatives were included for each proband and control. Each subject underwent a standardized interview, with application of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders-Revised (ICSD-R 2001) minimal criteria to diagnose the lifetime prevalence of the main parasomnias., Results: Four hundred fifty-eight individuals were recruited: 33 NFLE probands, 200 relatives of probands, 31 controls, and 194 control relatives. All NFLE probands but one have sporadic NFLE. The lifetime prevalence of the following parasomnias differed in proband relatives versus control relatives: arousal disorders [odds ratio (OR) 4.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-11.6; p < 0.001] and nightmares (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.6-4.2; p < 0.001) were more frequent among NFLE proband relatives. In the secondary analysis comparing NFLE probands to controls, arousal disorders (OR 6.3, 95% CI 1.3-31.7; p = 0.023) and bruxism (OR 5.4, 95% CI 1.3-21.7; p = 0.017) were more frequent among NFLE probands., Discussion: The higher frequency of arousal disorders in NFLE families suggests an intrinsic link between parasomnias and NFLE and an abnormal (possibly cholinergic) arousal system as a common pathophysiologic mechanism., (Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy.)

Childhood arousals, awakenings, and sleep disturbances during the night are common problems for both patients and their families. Additionally, inadequate sleep may contribute to daytime sleepiness, behavioral problems, and other important consequences of pediatric sleep disorders. Arousals, awakenings, and sleep disturbances can be quantified by routine polysomnography, and arousal scoring is generally performed as part of the standard polysomnogram. Here, we review current approaches to quantification of arousals and sleep disturbances and examine outcomes that have been associated with these measures. Initial data suggest that computer-assisted identification of non-visible arousals, cyclic alternating patterns, or respiratory cycle-related EEG changes may complement what can be accomplished by human scorers. Focus on contiguous bouts of sleep or specific sleep stages may prove similarly useful. Incorporation of autonomic arousal measures-such as heart rate variability, pulse transit time, or peripheral arterial tone-into standard reports may additionally capture subtle sleep fragmentation., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In polysomnography, RERA is defined as a respiratory parameter that indicates an arousal associated with a respiratory event and an increase in respiratory effort. Initially, RERA was described by means of esophageal manometry for the evaluation of respiratory effort. This greater respiratory effort occurs as a response to an increase in upper airway resistance, which is a factor present in the pathophysiology of sleep-disordered breathing, such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and upper airway resistance syndrome. Later, the use of a nasal pressure cannula was reported to be a reliable means of identifying airflow limitation and one that is more sensitive than is a thermistor. In addition, the nasal pressure cannula method has been used as a surrogate for esophageal manometry in the identification of periods in which upper airway resistance increases. Consequently, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend the use of either method for the identification of RERA, which is defined by the flattening of the inspiratory curve, characteristic of airflow limitation. Although RERA has been identified and evaluated in current medical practice, it has yet to be standardized. Therefore, it is recommended that polysomnographic reports indicate which abnormal respiratory events were taken into consideration in the evaluation of the severity of sleep-disordered breathing.

Study Objectives: Explore characteristics of nonrestorative sleep (NRS) in prospectively defined subgroups of individuals with NRS symptoms, investigate whether NRS can occur independently of difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep (DIS/DMS), and determine its effect on waking function., Design: Cross-sectional and longitudinal population-based study comparing patterns of daytime symptoms, and their persistence, in cohorts of subjects with NRS symptoms grouped according to presence or absence of DIS and DMS., Setting: 28 sleep centers in the US., Participants: Subjects reporting awakening unrestored or unrefreshed at least 3 times weekly over the previous 3 months were classified, based on self-reported sleep problems, to DIS (n = 138), DMS (n = 44), DIS+DMS (n = 125), and NRS-only (no DIS or DMS; n = 192) cohorts. Eighty healthy volunteers formed a control group., Interventions: None., Measurements and Results: Polysomnography confirmed DIS and/or DMS in 56/138 (41%), 18/44 (41%), and 37/125 (30%) subjects in DIS, DMS, and DIS+DMS cohorts, respectively; and absence of DIS or DMS in 115/192 (60%) NRS-only subjects and 52/80 (65%) healthy volunteers. Multiple subject-reported endpoints including the Endicott Work Productivity Scale, Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale, Restorative Sleep Questionnaire, and SF-36, showed that NRS-only subjects had significantly impaired daytime function relative to healthy volunteers, comparable to impairment affecting subjects with DIS and/or DMS. Symptoms persisted over 3 months., Conclusions: This study confirms that NRS can occur independently of other components of insomnia. Daytime symptoms were as severe in individuals with NRS-only as those whose NRS symptoms were combined with DIS or DMS.

Study Objectives: To describe the semiological features of NREM arousal parasomnias in detail and identify features that can be used to reliably distinguish parasomnias from nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE)., Design: Systematic semiologial evaluation of parasomnias and NFLE seizures recorded on video-EEG monitoring., Patients: 120 events (57 parasomnias, 63 NFLE seizures) from 44 subjects (14 males). Interventions. The presence or absence of 68 elemental clinical features was determined in parasomnias and NFLE seizures. Qualitative analysis of behavior patterns and ictal EEG was undertaken. Statistical analysis was undertaken using established techniques., Results: Elemental clinical features strongly favoring parasomnias included: interactive behavior, failure to wake after event, and indistinct offset (all P < 0.001). Cluster analysis confirmed differences in both the frequency and combination of elemental features in parasomnias and NFLE. A diagnostic decision tree generated from these data correctly classified 94% of events. While sleep stage at onset was discriminatory (82% of seizures occurred during stage 1 or 2 sleep, with 100% of parasomnias occurring from stage 3 or 4 sleep), ictal EEG features were less useful. Video analysis of parasomnias identified three principal behavioral patterns: arousal behavior (92% of events); non-agitated motor behavior (72%); distressed emotional behavior (51%)., Conclusions: Our results broadly support the concept of confusion arousals, somnambulism and night terrors as prototypical behavior patterns of NREM parasomnias, but as a hierarchical continuum rather than distinct entities. Our observations provide an evidence base to assist in the clinical diagnosis of NREM parasomnias, and their distinction from NFLE seizures, on semiological grounds.

Objective: To outline specific sleep disturbances in different clinical subsets of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and to confirm, by means of nocturnal video-polysomnography (video-PSG), a variety of sleep disorders in ADHD besides the classically described periodic leg movement disorder (PLMD), restless legs syndrome (RLS) and sleep related breathing disorder (SRBD)., Methods: Fifty-five ADHD children (47 M, 8F; mean age=8.9 y) were included: 16 had Inattentive and 39 Hyperactive/Impulsive or Combined ADHD subtype. Behavior assessment by Conners and SNAP-IV Scales, a structured sleep interview and a nocturnal video-PSG were administered., Results: Most children/parents reported disturbed, fragmentary sleep at night; complaints were motor restlessness (50%), sleep walking (47.6%), night terrors (38%), confusional arousals (28.5%), snoring (21.4%), and leg discomfort at night associated with RLS (11.9%). There is a significant difference (p value <0.05 or <0.001) in almost all the studied sleep variables between ADHD children and controls. International RLS Rating Scale scoring, Periodic Limb Movements during Sleep (PLMS) and Wake (PLMW) indexes, hyperactivity and opposition scores and ADHD subtype appear related. Different sleep disorders seem to address specific ADHD phenotypes and correlate with severity of symptoms as in sleep related movement disorders occurring in Hyperactive/Impulsive and Combined ADHD subtypes. Besides, an abnormality of the arousal process in slow wave sleep with consequent abnormal prevalence of disorders of arousal possibly enhanced by SRBD has also been detected in 52% of our sample., Conclusions: This study underlines the opportunity to propose and promote the inclusion of sleep studies, possibly by video-PSG, as part of the diagnostic screening for ADHD. This strategy could address the diagnosis and treatment of different specific ADHD phenotypic expressions that might be relevant to children's symptoms and contribute to ADHD severity.

Objective: To assess sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), sleep architecture, and arousal pattern in infants with achondroplasia and to evaluate the relationship between foramen magnum size and the severity of SDB., Study Design: A retrospective review of polysomnographic recordings and medical records was performed in infants with achondroplasia and in aged-matched control subjects. All studies were re-scored with the emphasis on respiratory events, sleep state, and arousals. In addition, the neuroimaging study of the brain (magnetic resonance imaging) was reviewed to evaluate foramen magnum diameters and to assess their relationship to SDB., Results: Twenty-four infants met the criteria for entry into analysis, 12 infants with achondroplasia (A) and 12 control infants (C). There was no significant difference in age or sex. Infants with achondroplasia had a significant increase in total respiratory disturbance index (RDI; A, 13.9 +/- 10.8 versus C, 2.0 +/- 0.9; P < .05). However, there was no significant difference in percentages of active sleep, quiet sleep, or sleep efficiency. Analysis of arousals demonstrated that infants with achondroplasia had a significant decrease in both spontaneous arousal index (A, 10.5 +/- 3.5/hr versus C, 18.6 +/- 2.7; P < .0001) and respiratory arousals (A, 10.3% +/- 6.3% versus C, 27.5 +/- 9.5%; P < .0001). Evaluation of foramen magnum dimensions demonstrated smaller foramen magnum size, but there were no significant correlations between anteroposterior or transverse diameters and RDI., Conclusion: Infants with achondroplasia have significant SDB during early infancy. SDB in infants with achondroplasia is not associated with alteration in sleep architecture, possibly because of attenuation of the arousal response. We speculate that the concomitant increased apneic events and decreased arousal response will lead to vulnerability in these infants and may underlie the pathophysiologic mechanism of sudden unexpected death in this population.

Childhood parasomnias and movement disorders arise from a variety of etiologic factors. For some children, psychopathology plays a causal role in sleep disorders; in other cases, recurrent parasomnia episodes induce psychopathology. Current research reveals complex interconnections between sleep and mental health. As such, it is important that clinicians consider the impact psychiatric disorders have on childhood parasomnias. This article describes common parasomnias and movement disorders in children and adolescents, with emphasis on psychologic and behavioral comorbidities.

Background and Objective: Nocturnal groaning (catathrenia) is a chronic sleep disorder classified as parasomnia with unclear effects on sleep and life quality. It is characterized by repeated episodes of monotonous vocalization in prolonged expiration (episodes of bradypnea) occurring mostly in REM sleep. We sought to assess its impact on sleep microstructure, i.e., the frequency of arousals relative to the groaning episodes. The frequency, duration and sleep-stage distribution of the groaning episodes were also studied., Methods: Eight patients with nocturnal groaning (5 male, 3 female, age range 11-32 years, mean age 23+/-7.1) were evaluated. All underwent standard neurologic examination and nocturnal videopolysomnography for two consecutive nights. The second night polysomnography data were used to evaluate sleep parameters. The groaning episodes (bradypneic events) were counted separately, not as clusters., Results: Sleep macrostructure revealed no specific changes. The number of groaning episodes/bradypneic events during the night varied from 40 to 182 (total number 725). The duration of bradypnea was from 2 to 46s (mean duration 12.5s). Groaning episodes prevailed in REM sleep (76.5%). The rate for NREM 2 was 21.5%, and only sporadic episodes were noted in delta sleep (1.9%); 63.3% of the events were associated with arousals, and in 94% of them an arousal occurred before or together with the onset of bradypnea. The arousal index was increased in 5 patients (mean 20.4). Bruxism was present in 4 cases, in 1 patient appearing in close association with groaning episodes. Ronchopathy was noted in 4 cases., Conclusion: Almost two-thirds of the groaning episodes were connected with arousals. Hypothetically, nocturnal groaning may well be a source of sleep disruption (mainly REM) in some cases. Because an arousal mostly preceded or coincided with groaning we believe that arousal mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of nocturnal groaning.

Objectives: Only few studies are available in the literature on sleep in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and one single study analyzed the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) in young adults with PWS, showing that patients with a higher proportion of A1 subtypes presented less severe GH deficiency. The aims of our study were to evaluate CAP in children with PWS compared to an age-matched control group and to evaluate the differences between PWS children with (GH+) and without (GH-) GH therapy., Methods: Laboratory polysomnographic sleep recordings were obtained from 30 children with PWS (17 GH- and 13 GH+ patients) and 15 age-matched normal controls., Results: Compared to controls, PWS children had a reduction of sleep efficiency, of sleep stage 2 and of REM sleep. GH- PWS patients showed a global decrease in total CAP rate during S1 and S2 but not in SWS. In GH+ PWS patients, SWS CAP rate and A1 index were increased vs. GH- children., Discussion: The decrease in total CAP rate and all A subtypes might suggest the presence of a decreased NREM sleep instability in our PWS children and can be considered to be in agreement with the reported generalized hypoarousal state of PWS subjects. GH therapy is likely to increase CAP rate and A1 index during SWS in PWS patients.

Arousals are considered one of the main causes of daytime sleepiness. They impede the proper flow of sleep cycles and cause weariness. Manual scoring of arousals is time-consuming, requires expert knowledge, and has high inter-scorer variability. A major difficulty in detecting arousals automatically is the existing variance across patients. Based on data mining techniques, we present a different approach to the automatic detection of arousals that overcomes the hurdle of differences in signal characteristics across patients. Offline we used a training-set of adult patients to define a set of general rules to detect arousals (termed meta-rules). This was done by analyzing the correlations between occurrences of arousals and the EEG, EMG, pulse and SaO2 signals as follows: (1) each signal was mathematically projected into several spaces (termed projected-signals); (2) from each such projected-signal, the algorithm extracted time points that indicated meaningful changes (termed critical-points); (3) data mining techniques were applied to all the critical-points to discover patterns of repeating behavior; (4) classes of patterns which were highly correlated with manually scored arousals were formalized as meta-rules. Online we used a test-set of adult patients from two other different sleep laboratories. Using the meta-rules, the algorithm extracted individual rules for each patient (termed actual-rules), and used them to automatically detect the patients' arousals. These arousals were significantly correlated (R=0.88, p<0.0001; sensitivity=75.2%, positive predictive value=76.5%) with those detected manually by experts. Since the total number of arousals is a measure of sleep quality, this algorithm constitutes a novel approach to automatically estimate sleep quality.

Background: Incomplete arousal from deep sleep in children causes night time disruption and can present as confusional arousals, sleep walking or night terrors. These nocturnal events are common in childhood but can be extremely concerning to parents and disruptive to families., Objective: This article provides a framework for the initial assessment of children's nocturnal events., Discussion: Occasionally night time disturbances are seizures. A framework discussing the clinical features of typical benign childhood events and how to differentiate them from seizure disorders is presented. Generally, sleep walking and night terrors are self limiting and children grow out of them. However, in some cases there are ongoing precipitants that are important to identify and treat.

Purpose: We recently demonstrated that in nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) highly stereotyped minor motor events (MMEs, in the form of short-lasting stereotyped movements involving the limbs, the axial musculature, and/or the head), could occur in either the presence or absence of an epileptiform discharge (ED). In lack of a systematic analysis, both MMEs and EDs were frequently observed to occur in association with arousal fluctuations. Hereby, in the same group of refractory NFLE subjects, we report a methodical neurophysiolgical investigation set out to investigate whether, and how, the arousal mechanism, monitored through visual scoring of the cyclic alternating pattern, modulates the expression of MMEs and EDs., Methods: The relationship of MMEs, EDs and arousal fluctuation was assessed in subjects explored using implanted electrodes., Results: The occurrence of both EDs and MMEs was associated with higher level of arousal (p < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis shows a significant effect of interaction of EDs and MMEs during CAP sleep (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Both MMEs and EDs are associated with arousal. We suggest that recurrence of EDs in itself can induce an increase in arousal level, which in turn, through a gate effect, facilitate the occurrence of MMEs. Thus, MMEs wouldn't be a direct effect of EDs, but rather originate from an indirect effect related to loss of cortical inhibition, which is secondary to arousal. In this perspective MMEs may be regarded as the result of aspecific dishinibition, triggered by internal epileptiform stimuli, of innate motor patterns generated by central pattern generators (CPGs). The CPG system might represent, through arousal facilitation, the substrate of the heterogeneous expression of MMEs in NFLE.

Seizures, namely in certain epileptic conditions, may be precipitated by sleep. Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy seizures, characterized by bizarre motor behaviour and autonomic activation, appear almost exclusively during sleep. The differential diagnosis between this condition and sleep-related non-epileptic paroxysmal motor phenomena, in particular the parasomnias, is arduous. Moreover, accepted criteria for the diagnosis of nocturnal frontal lobe seizures are lacking and even ictal scalp EEG recording could fail to disclose paroxysmal abnormalities. The clinical and polygraphic features of the different types of seizures in nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy and of the more common non-epileptic paroxysmal events during sleep are described. The main differentiating features characterizing nocturnal frontal seizures are: onset at any age, several attacks per night at any time during the night, brief duration (s) with stereotyped motor pattern. As video-polysomnographic recordings of the attack, the gold-standard for diagnosis, are expensive and not readily available everywhere, home-made video recordings may be helpful. Further investigations on pathophysiology, genetics and epidemiology are needed to clarify the relationship between epileptic and non-epileptic sleep related paroxysmal phenomena.

Study Objectives: To review medical and legal case reports to determine how many appear to support the belief that violence against other individuals that occurs during Disorders of Arousal - sleepwalking, confusional arousal, and sleep terrors - is triggered by direct physical contact or close proximity to that individual and does not occur randomly or spontaneously., Design: Historical review of case reports in the medical and legal literature., Measurements and Results: A total of 32 cases drawn from medical and legal literature were reviewed. Each case contained a record of violence associated with Disorders of Arousal; in each, details of the violent behavior were available. Violent behaviors associated with provocations and/or close proximity were found to be present in 100% of confusional arousal patients and 81% of sleep terror patients. Violent behaviors were associated with provocation or close proximity in 40%-90% of sleepwalking cases, depending on whether the legal verdict and other factors were taken into account. Often the provocation was quite minor and the response greatly exaggerated. The specific manner in which the violence was triggered differed among sleepwalking, confusional arousals, and sleep terrors., Conclusions: In the cases reviewed, violent behavior directed against other individuals associated with Disorders of Arousal most frequently appeared to follow direct provocation by, or close proximity to, another individual. Sleepwalkers most often did not seek out victims, but rather the victims sought out or encountered the sleepwalker. These conclusions are tempered by several limitations: the selection of cases was not random and may not represent an accurate sample of violent behaviors associated with Disorders of Arousal. Also, final verdicts by juries in reported legal cases should not be confused with scientific proof of the presence or absence of sleepwalking. The pathophysiology of Disorders of Arousal with and without violent behavior could be associated with normally occurring deactivation of the frontal lobes during slow wave sleep (SWS) connected via atypically active thalamocortical pathways to the limbic areas. It is not known if the violent sleepwalker, confusional arousal patient, or sleep terror patient differs from other patients with these disorders. The conclusions of this case series await confirmation by the results of future sleep laboratory based studies.

The case report describes a distinct variant of non-REM (Rapid Eye Movement) arousal parasomnia, sleepwalking type, featuring repetitive abrupt arousals, mostly from slow-wave sleep, and various automatisms and semi-purposeful behaviours. The frequency of events and distribution throughout the night presented as a continuous status of parasomnia ('status parasomnicus'). The patient responded well to treatment typically administered for adult NREM parasomnias, and after careful review of the clinical presentation, objective findings and treatment outcome, sleep-related epilepsy was ruled out in favour of parasomnia.

The diagnosis of paroxysmal events in sleep represents a significant challenge for the clinician, with the distinction of nocturnal epilepsy from nonepileptic sleep disorders often the primary concern. Diagnostic error or uncertainty is not uncommon in this situation, particularly with respect to nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE), which has a variable and often unusual presentation. Such errors can be minimized if the range of nonepileptic disorders with motor activity in sleep is fully appreciated. Here we review these disorders, before discussing the important clinical and electrographic features that allow their accurate differentiation from seizures. Particular emphasis is placed on the differentiation of nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) arousal disorders and other parasomnias. The value of recording episodes with video EEG polysomnography is discussed.

The aim of the study was to assess neurologic complications of pertussis infection. A file review of all children (age 7-18 years) in our hospital with serology-positive pertussis infection admitted from 1995 to 2005 yielded six patients with neurologic symptoms in whom electroencephalographic studies were performed. Data were collected on their clinical symptoms, electroencephalographic findings, final diagnosis, and outcome. The six patients accounted for 10% of all children diagnosed with pertussis during the study period. Their ages ranged from 10 to 15.5 years. All the children were referred by their primary physician because of a suspicion of epilepsy on the basis of parental reports of inefficient attempts to breathe during sleep accompanied by high-pitched sounds and sounds of suffocation, and sleepwalking. The children were amnesic for the episodes. However, findings on electroencephalogram taken during sleep were negative in all cases. The final diagnosis was partial arousal parasomnia. The symptoms of parasomnia disappeared with resolution of the symptoms of the pertussis infection. In conclusion, partial arousal parasomnia may be induced by pertussis infection. Further studies in larger groups are required to confirm this association.

Aim: Research focusing on hyperarousability in association with general sensitivity to stress has increased. This study aimed to: (i) describe values for self-reported hyperarousal behaviour traits, depression, sleeplessness behaviour and health-related quality of life [The Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36)] in a gender-stratified random sample from the Swedish population; and (ii) test the validity and reliability of the Swedish version of the Hyperarousal Behavioural Trait Scale (H-scale)., Methods: In this study, 402 women and 391 men from Sweden were included. A test-retest study was performed on 297 subjects., Results: The total mean score on the H-scale was 29.5 (SD 10.0, 95% CI 28.8-30.2). Compared to men, women scored higher on the H-scale (total score, sub-scales and many items), whereas no evidence of an age trend was seen. The H-scale has proven to be a valid and reliable scale. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed similar magnitude and direction between the H-scale and the Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale, as between the H-scale and the Vicious Cycle of Sleeplessness Behaviour Scale, Vitality, Mental Health and the Mental Component Summary index on the SF-36 respectively. The Cronbach's alpha for the H-scale was 0.84 and estimated stability test-retest point of time varies between 0.73 and 0.80., Conclusions: This study indicates gender differences in response style in association with altered health-related quality of life. The H-scale is a valid and reliable self-reported scale for measuring hyperarousal behavioural trait research outcome in clinical practice.