HOMEOSTASIS AND NARCOLEPSY

Narcolepsy is characterized by irresistible daytime sleep episodes and cataplectic attacks. Because of the finding of an ultradian rhythmici ty of slow-wave sleep in narcolepsy, an alteration of nonrapid eye mov ement sleep homeostatic regulation has been hypothesized to explain th e impairment of the sleep-wakefulness cycle. This hypothesis was teste d by two different methods: 1) a sleep-deprivation method (16 or 24 ho urs) increasing the prior sleep wakefulness and 2) a bed-rest method s hortening the prior sleep wakefulness. In both studies normal subjects , sex- and age-matched to narcoleptic subjects, served as controls. Al though some differences could be evidenced between the two groups, it was clearly shown that the homeostatic process was functional in narco lepsy and that narcoleptics seemed to be more sensitive to homeostatic regulation of sleep than normal subjects.