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Activation of the motor cortex during phasic rapid eye movement sleep

2015; Wiley; Volume: 79; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/ana.24556

1531-8249

Fabrizio De Carli, Paola Proserpio, Elisa Morrone, Ivana Sartori, Michèle Ferrara, Steve A. Gibbs, Luigi De Gennaro, Giorgio Lo Russo, Lino Nobili,

Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

When dreaming during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, we can perform complex motor behaviors while remaining motionless. How the motor cortex behaves during this state remains unknown. Here, using intracerebral electrodes sampling the human motor cortex in pharmacoresistant epileptic patients, we report a pattern of electroencephalographic activation during REM sleep similar to that observed during the performance of a voluntary movement during wakefulness. This pattern is present during phasic REM sleep but not during tonic REM sleep, the latter resembling relaxed wakefulness. This finding may help clarify certain phenomenological aspects observed in REM sleep behavior disorder.