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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:309-312.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Sleep terrors (pavor nocturnus), estimated to occur in 1% to 3% of children,¹ are frequently a cause of considerable parental anxiety because of the often extreme level of agitation and arousal involved in their clinical presentation. Sleep terrors are primarily defined as an arousal disorder, arising out of stage 3 or 4 non–rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and are felt to be a reflection of relative central nervous system maturation delay.² However, relatively little is known about the pathophysiology of arousal disorders, which also include somnambulism (sleepwalking) and confusional arousals. We report a case of a child with a very dramatic presentation of sleep terrors, in whom the constellation of potential precipitating and exacerbating factors suggests an etiologic model of complex interactions among several psychological and medical variables.

Patient Report.

A white girl aged 5 years 9 months was referred to a pediatric sleep disorders clinic by her parents for a 2- . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Comment.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Sleep Terrors
Friedman
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999;153:895-895.
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