Somnambulism in adults

Kavey, Neil B. MD
Whyte, Jamie AB
Resor, Stanley R. Jr. MD
Gidro-Frank, Stephen

Sleep Disorders Center, The Department of Psychiatry (Dr. Kavey, Mr. Whyte, and Mr. Gidro-Frank) and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Resor), Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Neil B. Kavey, The Sleep Disorders Center, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 161 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, NY 10032.

Received January 9, 1989. Accepted for publication in final form October 18, 1989.

Neurology 40(5):p 749-752, May 1990.

Article abstract

We evaluated with clinical interviews and polysomnographic examinations 10 adults with the complaint of sleepwalking, often accompanied by violent behavior or self-injury. During the polysomnographic studies, 8 patients had 47 distinct somnambulistic episodes. All episodes occurred in non-REM sleep, with 91% occurring in slow-wave sleep. Contrary to previous reports, episodes were not confined to the 1st 3rd of the night. Clinical EEGs were normal in 5 of 6 patients. In the 7 patients tried on 1 or more treatment regimens, clonazepam effectively suppressed the somnambulism in 5 of 6 patients in whom it was tried, carbamazepine in 1 of 3, flurazepam in 2 of 2, and a combination of clonazepam and phenytoin in one.