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REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

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REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is a sleep disorder characterized by the absence of muscle paralysis that normally occurs during the REM phase of sleep. This absence allows individuals to physically act out their dreams, which are often vivid and disturbing. Common behaviors exhibited during episodes include kicking, punching, and yelling. These actions can be dangerous, potentially leading to injuries for the person with RBD or their bed partner.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice

Polygraphic Recording Procedure for Measuring Sleep in Mice

Published on: January 25, 2016

Diagnostic tools for REM sleep behavior disorder.

Ariel B Neikrug¹, Sonia Ancoli-Israel

¹SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, USA.

Sleep Medicine Reviews

|December 16, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Diagnosing REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) involves subjective interviews and objective polysomnography (PSG). Current assessment methods require further validation for definitive diagnosis.

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Area of Science:

Neurology
Sleep Medicine
Psychiatry

Background:

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia marked by loss of muscle atonia during REM sleep, leading to motor behaviors.
Diagnosis relies on clinical interviews for dream enactment history and polysomnography (PSG) to assess REM sleep without atonia (RWA) and motor activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and summarize existing clinical measurements used for assessing RBD.
To review the psychometric properties of diagnostic criteria and methods for RBD.

Main Methods:

Searched MEDLINE and PsycInfo databases for studies on RBD diagnostic criteria validation.
Included studies of adult subjects with sufficient psychometric data for validation.

Main Results:

Reviewed 58 studies, encompassing objective measures like electromyographic (EMG) scoring, scintigraphy, actigraphy, and video analysis.
Subjective measures included interviews and questionnaires.

Conclusions:

Sleep history may suffice for RBD diagnosis in some cases, but PSG is essential for definitive diagnosis.
EMG scoring methods lack standardization; further validation is needed for cutoff scores.
Questionnaires are useful screening tools but require broader population validation.