title: Sleep architecture in homicidal women with antisocial personality disorder--a preliminary study.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to characterize sleep in severely violent women with antisocial personality disorder (ASP) as the primary diagnosis. Participants for this preliminary study were three drug-free female offenders ordered to undergo a forensic mental examination in a maximum security state mental hospital after committing homicide or attempted homicide. Ten healthy age- and gender-matched controls consisted of hospital staff with no history of physical violence. The most striking finding was the increased amount of slow wave sleep, particularly the deepest sleep stage, S4, in women with ASP. This finding is in agreement with previously reported results in habitually violent male criminals with ASP. Severe female aggression seems to be associated with profound changes in sleep architecture. Whether this reflects specific brain pathology, or a delay in the normal development of sleep patterns in the course of aging, needs to be clarified. From the perspective of sleep research, the biological correlates of severe impulsive violence seem to be similar in both sexes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Physiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. nina.lindberg@pp3.inet.fi
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Eila
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sailas
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Putkonen
authors.forename: Pirjo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Takala
authors.forename: Anna-Sofia
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Urrila
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eronen
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Virkkunen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D017286:Polysomnography; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*