[Etiology and pathogenesis of somnambulism]

The problem of somnambulism is discussed in this paper by reference to the present state of research in this field. A complex of conditions is assumed to underly sleep-walking and be triggered by various factors. Psychic or organic moments may trigger somnambulance if there exists a readiness for this form of reaction. The corpus striatum is assumed to control the overall coordination of stereotypic motor movements, which is made an independently functioning subsystem by certain states of tension in the central nervous system.