title: Oneiric stupor: the peculiar behaviour of agrypnia excitata.
abstract: Agrypnia excitata (AE) is a syndrome characterized by the inability to sleep associated with a generalized motor and autonomic over-activation. AE is caused by a thalamo-limbic system dysfunction and comprises three different conditions: Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), Delirium Tremens (DT), and Morvan Syndrome (MS). Oneiric Stupor episodes (OS) are the peculiar motor behaviour of AE. During OS patients perform simple automatic gestures mimicking daily-life activities. This paper is the first description of the different characteristics of OS in two patients with MS and another with FFI, emphasizing the specific clinical features that reliably differentiate OS from REM sleep behaviour disorders.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guaraldi
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calandra-Buonaura
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Terlizzi
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montagna
authors.forename: Elio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lugaresi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tinuper
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cortelli
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Provini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology