Sleepwalking Essay -- Research Psychology Essays

SleepwalkingSomnambulism, or sleepwalking, belongs to a group of parasomnias. This disorder of arousal is characterized by building complex motor behaviors initiated during stages 3 and 4 of non-rapid- affection-movement (NREM) sleep (slow-wave sleep) (3). Behaviors during sleepwalking episodes can vary greatly. Some episodes are limited to sitting up, fumbling and getting dressed, succession others accept more complex behaviors such as walking, driving a car, or preparing a meal (2). After awakening, the sleepwalker usually has no recollection of what has happened and may appear confused and disoriented. The behaviors performed while sleepwalking are said to be autonomous automatisms. These are nonrelfex actions performed without conscious volition and accomplished independently from the I-function (3). This insinuates that everything done while sleepwalking is involuntary because the exhibited behavior is not a result of the I-functions output. Therefore if the I-function is not involved what causes people to sleepwalk? What happens to the I-function during sleepwalking? What does this imply about witticism and behavior?Sleep is a succession of five recurring stages four non-REM stages and the REM stage. Researchers have classified these stages of sleep by monitoring muscle tone, eye movements, and the electrical activity of the brain using an electroencephalogram (EEG) (4). EEG readings measure brain waves and classify them according to speed. Alertness consists of desynchronized beta activity whereas relaxation and drowsiness consist of alpha activity (4). Stage 1 sleep includes alternating patterns of alpha activity, irregular fast activity and the presence of some theta activity. This stage is a transition between sleep and wakefulness (4... ...it can function independently from it. Despite my greater understanding of somnambulism I was unable to determine wherefore the nervous system causes people to sleepwalk. It has been shown that no dreaming oc curs during these stages of sleep. Therefore I do not understand what sleepwalkers are acting out. This question still system open for investigation.Works Cited1)Bassetti, C., Vella, S., Donati, F., Wielepp, P. Weder, B. SPECT during sleepwalking. Lancet 2000 Aug 5 356(9228)484-852)3)Masand, P., Popli, A., Weilburg, J. Sleepwalking. American Family Physician 1995. v5 n3 p649.4)Carlson, N. Physiology of Behavior. 7th ed. Allyn and Bacon. USA, 20015)McCarley, R.W. and Hobson, J. A. The form of dreams and the biology of sleep. In the Handbook of dreams Research, Theory, and Applications, edited by B. Wolman. New York mickle Nostrand Reinhold, 1979.