Inhibitory phenomena during NREM sleep related to auditory stimuli and epileptic spikes

Auditory stimuli induce facilitation of the H reflex during wakefulness (so-called audio-spinal influence). In 5 subjects we found that, during SWS, the same stimuli may provoke phasic losses of muscle tone and H reflex inhibition. Similar losses of tone and H reflex inhibition were related to epileptic spikes in 3 patients.