Sleep Disorder of Somnambulism

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, one description of Lady Macbeth reads as follows: "You see, her eyes are open, but their sense is shut" (Shakespeare 1066). Better known as sleepwalking, somnambulism affects approximately 15% of children and 10 percent of adults (Meara 32). Though sleepwalking is a condition that can affect individuals of any age, it is most common in occurrence in children between the ages of 6 to 12 and boys sleepwalk more often than girls (Meara 32). Despite the higher prevalence in sleepwalking in children than adults, when adults are affected by this type of sleep disorder they typically experience the disorder for the rest of their lives. For most children who sleepwalk, the disorder is related to sleep patterns. In adults, sleepwalking can be a serious disorder. New research has linked the sleep disorder to a specific gene, known as HLA (Lecendreux 114). Some defense attorney's have mounted what is known as a "sleepwalking" defense, arguing that the crimes their client's are accused of committing occurred while in a state of unconscious "sleepwalking." This research will explain the sleep disorder known as somnambulism, including possible causes and remedies. New research on a genetic connection to sleepwalking and efforts to use sleepwalking as a legal defense will also be addressed.

As in Shakespeare's time, sleepwalking is not a fully understood disorder. Individuals who are affected by the disorder reta

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t points to "remarkable and suggestive of an autoimmune mechanism of sleepwalking disorder" (Bohannon 2). Sleepwalking in adults can be a very severe disorder. The military will not accept sleepwalkers, in an effort to avoid having sleepwalkers misuse potentially fatal weapons against others inadvertently. Sleepwalkers are often prone to injuries, remaining unconscious about what they are actually doing. Sleepwalkers have been reported to have eaten watches or cat food sandwiches. Some sleepwalkers have allegedly committed crimes as severe as murder while sleepwalking. Meara reports that the sleepwalking defense has been used in as many as 20 to 30 murder cases worldwide (34). Such acts have given way to a legal defense known as the "sleepwalking defense." In 2002, defense attorney Raipher Pellegrino embarked on the first successful use of the sleepwalking defense. Pellegrino used the somnambulism defense to win the acquittal of a New Jersey man who committed a "laundry list" of offenses after a night of "heavy drinking," (O'Brien 24). Pellegrino was successful, he says, in getting the jury to accept that somnambulism is a "serious medical condition, not the subject of jokes and cynicism," (O'Brien 24). Others attorneys

Category: Psychology - S