This Article  • Full text  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:895.

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

Owens et al¹ found that night terrors in a 5-year-old girl characterized by agitation, unresponsiveness, violent shaking, flailing, screaming, crying, a "choking" sensation at sleep onset, and extreme autonomic arousal were exacerbated by sleep deprivation and environmental noise. They also noted that the periods of exacerbation immediately preceded or coincided with linear growth spurts, and a recent move and the father's frequent absences on business travel were identified as potential stressors. She had had a recent onset of severe, unilateral headaches accompanied by photophobia, which were subsequently diagnosed as migraine headaches by a pediatric neurologist. Neurobiological features are suggested by reports linking noise stress, wakefulness, subclinical impairment of lung airways, disruption of brainstem cardiovascular control, and dysregulation of cortical silent periods, growth hormone, the microvasculature, and mood with dopamine abnormalities lateralized to the right hemisphere for which the metabolic rate is higher in females. This hypothesis is supported by optimal . . . [Full Text of this Article]