S107 Polysomnography in parasomnias

Parasomnias make up an important group of sleep disorders affecting children, adults and seniors; where sleep-related cognitive, affective and autonomic changes mysteriously interlace with personality-traits and daytime impressions of the affected person. The specific genetic and neuro-pathological features of parasomnias make them model-conditions of distorted sleep regulation, hopefully enlightening unknown links and mechanisms. The two apparently disjunct groups are non-REM and REM sleep parasomnias - the eminent representatives being sleep walking and REM sleep behaviour disorder. The two types show distinctive polysomnographic and clinical features; and at the same time, seem to peculiarly overlap e.g. in the form of violent parasomnias. Although the differential is generally straight-forward, some of the parasomnias may pose a hard differential-diagnostic issue against sleep related epilepsies or psychogenic conditions; resolved by the analysis of semiological and polysomnigraphic characteristics. I want to show the typical polysomnographic and clinical features of the two main groups detailing some of their known mechanisms as well.