Other Sleep Disorders AO2Explanations of Sleep disorders:NarcolepsySleep Walking

Narcolepsy Refresher

• Psychological explanations ▫Lehrman and Weiss, 1943 – disguise sexual fantasies

•REM▫Caused by malfunctions in the system regulating REM

sleep, hence cataplexy, hallucinations etc.

•HLA▫Honda et el 1983 – increased HLA – mutation of immune

system.

•Hypocretin▫Low levels of this neurotransmitter which regulates

emotion and homeostasis in the hypothalamus (Sakuri, 2007)

Somnambulism (Sleep-Walking)• Incomplete arousal▫ Brain activity shows delta waves (SWS) and beta waves (Awake)

– brain is not fully aroused

• Risk factors▫ Sleep deprivation, alcohol, fever, stress, psychiatric conditions

(Plazzi et al, 2005)▫ Hormonal changes at puberty▫ Some people may have inherited vulnerability – diathesis stress

model

• Why children?▫ Children have more SWS▫ System which normally inhibits motor activity not sufficiently

developed (Oliviero, 2008)

• Psychological causes▫ Sleep walking result of acting out dreams representing repressed

traumas and anxieties

From the hand out and your own knowledge…• In pairs, you should work on either Sleep-

walking or Narcolepsy (one each). When you are done, swap!

•Find:•1 x IDA•2 x studies•1 methodology•1 x RWA

Narcolepsy Sleep-walkingRWA – treatments being worked on involving artificial hypocretin replacement

RWA – Jules Lowe used sleep walking research as defence in murder case

Study 1 – Vogel, (1960)/Siegel (1999)

Study 1 – genetic link – Broughton (1968)/Lecendreux et al (2003)

Study 2 – Migon et al (1997) Study 2 – Diathesis-stress model support – Zadra et al (2008)

IDA – Biological approach supported by research into hypocretin as a cause

IDA – Psychological cause unlikely – refutes Psychodynamic approach

Methodology – animals used in research

Methodology – lab experiments, problems with measuring sleep etc.

Implication check…•Does it say what the information

you have discussed in M and I suggests about the explanation for narcolepsy/sleep walking?

•Does it say how you know this?

•Does it make a justified judgement upon the value/usefulness of the explanation?

•Does it link back to the question?