@article{ref1,
title="Adrenergic reactions during N3 sleep arousals in sleepwalking and sleep terrors: the chicken or the egg?",
journal="Journal of sleep research",
year="2019",
author="Ledard, Nahema and Artru, Emilie and Colmenarez Sayago, Patricia and Redolfi, Stefania and Golmard, Jean-Louis and Carrillo-Solano, Marisol and Arnulf, Isabelle",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="To understand the mechanisms of N3 sleep interruptions in patients with sleepwalking episodes and/or sleep terrors (SW/ST), we evaluated whether autonomic reactions preceded or accompanied behavioural arousals from NREM sleep stage N3. In 20 adult patients with SW/ST and 20 matched controls without parasomnia, heart rate and pulse wave amplitude were measured beat-to-beat during the 10 beats preceding and during the 15 beats succeeding a motor arousal from N3 sleep. Respiratory rate and amplitude were measured during the same 25 successive beats. In patients with SW/ST, the N3 arousals were associated with a 33% increase in heart rate, a 57% decrease in pulse wave amplitude (indicating a major vasoconstriction), a 24% increase in respiratory rate and a doubling of respiratory amplitude. Notably, tachycardia and vasoconstriction started 4 s before motor arousals. A similar profile (tachycardia and vasoconstriction gradually increasing from the 4 s preceding arousal and post-arousal increase of respiratory amplitude, but no polypnea) was also observed, with a lower amplitude, during the less frequent 38 quiet N3 arousals in control subjects. Parasomniac arousals were associated with greater tachycardia, vasoconstriction and polypnea than quiet arousals, with the same pre-arousal gradual increases in heart rate and vasoconstriction. Autonomic arousal occurs 4 s before motor arousal from N3 sleep in patients with SW/ST (with a higher adrenergic reaction than in controls), suggesting that an alarming event during sleep (possibly a worrying sleep mentation or a local subcortical arousal) causes the motor arousal.<br><br>© 2019 European Sleep Research Society.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0962-1105",
doi="10.1111/jsr.12946",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12946"
}