A Rhythmic Movement Disorder in REM Sleep: A Case Report

Abstract

The case of a 34-year-old woman in good health with a complaint of diurnal fatigue and chronic repetitive rocking body movements during sleep is reported. Repeated polygraphic and video recordings during sleep allowed for a detailed analysis of rhythmic patterns of head and body rolling movements preferentially occurring during rapid eye movement sleep. The contribution of severe psychopathology or neurologic disorder was carefully examined and ruled out with personality testing, structured psychiatric interview, neurological examination with electroencephalogram, cerebral computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and position emission tomography scans.