Conférence :
Parasomnia and unusual sleep behavior : Should a somnambulist be awakened?
General description of the conference :
Parasomnias are physical events or unwanted experiences that occur during sleep onset, slow wave sleep, REM sleep, or during sleep-wake transitions.
Parasomnias affect 17% of children and 2.1% of adults
These disorders are classified according to the phase of sleep during which they occur and are manifested by anormal phenomena and behaviors: murmuring, screaming and gesticulating. Parasomnias are clinical disorders because they can cause injuries, disrupt sleep, have adverse effects on health, but also on psychological and social levels. Each parasomnia has its own mechanisms and a specific management.
The purpose of the conference is to learn to differentiate parasomnias according to the age of the patients and the stage of sleep in which they appear, as the evolution is different.
For example, deep slow wave sleep parasomnias occur in children and young adults and improve as they age, whereas REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) affects subjects after their fifties and may precede the onset of certain neurological disorders.
The speaker :
- By Dr. Régis LOPEZ : Psychiatrist specialized in sleep medicine and doctor in neurosciences at the University Hospital of Montpellier.
- By Dre. Isabelle ARNULF : Neurologist and director of the sleep pathology unit at the Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris