REM Behavior Sleep Disorder

Patients with rapid eye movement behavior disorder (RBD) act out dramatic and/or violent dreams during rapid eye movement (REM) stage sleep. Another feature of RBD is shouting and grunting. RBD seems similar to other sleep disorders that involve motor activity, like sleepwalking or periodic limb movement disorder. Unlike these conditions, RBD movements occur during REM sleep, which is usually characterized by a state of atonia, or sleep paralysis.

Background: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a newly described disorder, recognized as a distinct clinical entity following a series of reports in 1986 of adults with RBD. RBD is the best studied REM sleep parasomnia. Clinically, RBD is characterized by loss of normal voluntary muscle atonia during REM sleep associated with complex behavior while dreaming. According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, the minimal diagnostic criteria include movements of the body or limbs associated with dreaming and at least one of the