Functional Imagery of Sleepwalking

July 21, 2016 updated by: University Hospital, Montpellier

Sleepwalking (also called somnambulism) is a disorder in which only SWS is disrupted. This NREM parasomnia is characterized by inappropriate motor behaviors, usually initiated during arousal from SWS, that induce psychological distress and alter quality of life, leading to fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, and objectively impaired vigilance in the morning.

The pathophysiology of sleepwalking remains poorly understood. Sleepwalkers had difficulty maintaining stable, consolidated sleep and experienced more arousals and microarousals, specifically from SWS, leading to increased NREM instability, especially during the first sleep cycles. The brain is partially awake, resulting in behavioral manifestations, and partially in NREM sleep, resulting in no conscious awareness of actions.

A Single Photonic Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) study of one sleepwalking episode found increased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum, with deactivation in the frontoparietal associative cortices. Data from intracerebral EEGs during confusional arousals confirmed both local arousal of the motor and cingulate cortices and increased delta activity in the frontoparietal associative cortices.

The investigators thus proposed a controlled study of SPECT imagery in 24 sleepwalkers (12 SPECT during a SW episode and 12 SPECT during slow wave sleep and 24 during wakefulness) and 12 controls (during slow wave sleep and wakefulness). SW episodes will be elicited by sleep deprivation condition associated with forced arousal (auditory stimulus).

The comparative analyses of SPECT acquisitions between different states (wakefulness, slow wave sleep and SW) and populations (sleepwalkers versus controls) will provide new insights about the complex pathophysiology of SW episodes.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Montpellier, France, 34295
        • University Hospital of Montpellier

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years to 37 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

PATIENTS

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subject diagnosed with NREM parasomnia according the international classification of sleep disorders
  • More than one episode per week
  • More than one hypersynchronous delta wave arousal recorded on polysomnographic assessment
  • Affiliated to social security
  • Age between 18 years-old and 39 years-old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient taking any psychotropic drug during the two weeks before the inclusion
  • Patient with obstructive sleep apnea Syndrome, restless legs syndrome, nocturnal epilepsy and unstable psychiatric disease.

CONTROL GROUP

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Affiliated to social security
  • Age between 18 years-old and 39 years-old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subject taking psychotropic drug during the two weeks before the inclusion
  • Subject with following medical history : NREM parasomnia, neurologic or psychiatric disorder, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, restless legs syndrome, nocturnal epilepsy.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Sleepwalker, SW episode
Sleepwalker patients undergo single-photon emission computed tomography during a sleepwalking episode.
Other: Sleepwalkers, slow wave sleep
Sleepwalker patients undergo single-photon emission computed tomography during slow-wave sleep.
Other: Control group
Control subjects undergo single-photon emission computed tomography during slow-wave sleep.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Brain metabolism measurement with brain scintigraphy
Time Frame: Day 0
Day 0

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Cortical excitability measurement with transcranial magnetic stimulation
Time Frame: Day 0
Day 0

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2016

Study Completion (Anticipated)

January 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 18, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 21, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

July 26, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 26, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 21, 2016

Last Verified

July 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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