title: Excessive fragmentary myoclonus: time of night and sleep stage distributions.
abstract: Excessive fragmentary myoclonus during sleep consists of high amounts of brief twitch-like movements occurring asynchronously and asymmetrically in different body areas and has been reported to occur in association with a number of sleep disorders. It was analyzed using a new technique of quantification, the fragmentary myoclonus index (FMI). The FMI exhibited high rates in all stages of sleep but with a somewhat lower frequency in slow wave sleep explaining, as well, a significantly lower rate in the first hour after onset compared to later hours. There was no evidence for greater sleep fragmentation or lighter sleep compared to a matched patient group in whom it had not been noted.
authors.affiliation: Ottawa General Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lins
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castonguay
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dunham
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nevsimalova
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Broughton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009207:Myoclonus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors