We cordially invite you to the next lecture of the BME Cognitive Seminar
Series:
Date & Time: April 16, Monday, 12:00-13:00
Location: BME, XI., Egry József utca 1., T. ép 515.
*The Pathophysiology of Idiopathic Nightmare Disorder: A
Polysomnographic Investigation*
*Simor Péter*
Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and
Economics
http://www.bodizs-lab.hu/people/postgraduate-students/peter-daniel-simor.ht…
Abstract
Idiopathic nightmare disorder, affecting 2-8 percent of the adult
population, is considered to be a REM parasomnia characterized (on a
weekly basis) by highly disturbing mental experiences during late-night
sleep. The common appearance of disturbed dreaming and
psychopathological symptoms have contributed to the assumption that
nightmares are the secondary symptom of an underlying mental disorder.
Nevertheless, while co-morbid psychopathology may increase the severity
and daytime effects of disturbed dreaming, research suggests that
frequent nightmares should be considered as a specific sleep disorder
that are independent in its origins from other mental complaints.
According to questionnaire-based data, disturbed dreaming is related to
poor subjective sleep quality; however; polysomnographic studies
investigating objective sleep alterations in subjects with frequent
nightmares are more than scarce. In order to unravel the
neurophysiological background of disturbed sleep in nightmare disorder
we selected a group of young nightmare sufferers and healthy controls
for standard polysomnography (10-20 system) for two consecutive nights
in our sleep laboratory. In this talk, we present our findings related
to the alterations of sleep architecture, the so-called macrostructure
of sleep. Moreover we present our results regarding abnormal arousal
processes in nightmare subjects, based on the evaluation of the Cyclic
Alternating Pattern. Finally we briefly summarize our preliminary data
on the spectral distribution of neural oscillations that provides a more
detailed analysis into the dynamics of sleep regulation.
--
Attila Keresztes
Junior Research Fellow
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Dept. of Cognitive Science,
Egry József u. 1, Budapest
1111, Hungary
Tel: +36 1 4633525