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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice

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Published on: January 25, 2016

REM sleep without atonia in narcolepsy.

Jitka Buskova¹, Sona Nevsimalova, David Kemlink

¹Department of Neurology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. vankjit@seznam.cz

Neuro Endocrinology Letters

|December 30, 2009

Summary

Narcolepsy patients show increasing amounts of REM sleep without atonia (RWA) throughout the night. This suggests worsening motor disturbances during REM sleep as the night progresses.

Area of Science:

Neurology
Sleep Medicine
Neurophysiology

Background:

Narcolepsy is associated with increased REM sleep without atonia (RWA).
The intra-night distribution of RWA in narcolepsy has not been previously studied.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the intra-night distribution of REM sleep without atonia (RWA) in patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy.

Main Methods:

Retrospective analysis of 34 narcolepsy-cataplexy patients.
Polysomnography and MSLT used for diagnosis confirmation.
REM sleep without atonia (RWA) scored across all nocturnal REM periods.

Main Results:

A significant increase in RWA proportion was observed during successive REM periods (p<0.01).

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No correlation found between RWA percentage and disease severity, duration, or age.

Conclusions:

This study is the first to demonstrate an increasing intra-night trend of RWA in narcolepsy.
Findings suggest progressively enhanced motor disturbances during REM sleep throughout the night in narcolepsy.