title: Nocturnal enuresis and the pontine reticular formation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the previously proposed hypothesis that enuretic patients have a dysfunction in the pontine reticular formation.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 18 patients with intractable nocturnal enuresis, rapid eye movement (REM)-related phasic chin muscle activity loss in REM sleep was examined by means of a single-night polysomnography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 5 of 18 patients, this physiologically seen phenomenon was found to be disturbed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since REM-related phasic chin muscle activity loss is disturbed by the functional impairment in the pontine reticular formation, some enuretic patients could be considered as presenting a dysfunction in this structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. jkohyama.ped@med.tmd.ac.jp
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kohyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimohira
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwakawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004775:Enuresis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D011149:Pons / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012154:Reticular Formation / Q000503:physiopathology*