title: REM sleep Behaviour Disorder.
abstract: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep Behaviour Disorder (RBD) is a REM sleep parasomnia characterized by loss of the muscle atonia that typically occurs during REM sleep, therefore allowing patients to act out their dreams. RBD manifests itself clinically as a violent behaviour occurring during the night, and is detected at the polysomnography by phasic and/or tonic muscle activity on the electromyography channel. In absence of neurological signs or central nervous system lesions, RBD is defined as idiopathic. Nevertheless, in a large number of cases the development of neurodegenerative diseases in RBD patients has been described, with the duration of the follow-up representing a fundamental aspect. A growing number of clinical, neurophysiologic and neuropsychological studies aimed to detect early markers of neurodegenerative dysfunction in RBD patients. Anyway, the evidence of impaired cortical activity, subtle neurocognitive dysfunction, olfactory and autonomic impairment and neuroimaging brain changes in RBD patients is challenging the concept of an idiopathic form of RBD, supporting the idea of RBD as an early manifestation of a more complex neurodegenerative process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology-Sleep Disorder Center, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20127, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Faculty of Psychology, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: ferinistrambi.luigi@hsr.it.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferini-Strambi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology-Sleep Disorder Center, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20127, Milan, Italy; Clinical Neurology, University Hospital "Spedali Civili", 52123, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology-Sleep Disorder Center, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20127, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Faculty of Psychology, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giora
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology-Sleep Disorder Center, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20127, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Faculty of Psychology, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology-Sleep Disorder Center, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20127, Milan, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Faculty of Psychology, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galbiati
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000379:methods; D020187:REM Sleep Behavior Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Neurodegenerative disorders; Neurophysiology; RBD; Sleep; Treatment