Study Objective: To compare the number and distribution of awakenings from
slow-wave sleep (SWS) and both the power and dynamics of EEG slow-wave acti
vity (SWA) in sleepwalkers and controls. Somnambulism is considered to be a
disorder of arousal from NREM sleep and related to anomalous SWS and SWA.
Power spectral analyses have never been used to quantify patients' SWA acro
ss sleep cycles.
Design: N/A
Setting: N/A
Patients: A polysomnographic study was performed on 15 adult sleepwalkers a
nd 15 age- and sex-matched controls.
Interventions: N/A
Measurements & Results: Sleepwalkers had a significantly greater number of
awakenings from SWS than did control subjects. Controls showed a greater de
crease in SWA across NREM cycles. Sleepwalkers had a significantly lower le
vel of SWA during the first NREM period, where most awakenings take place.
Conclusion: Sleepwalkers appear to suffer from an abnormality in the neural
mechanisms responsible for the regulation of SWS.