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Retired NBME 20 Answers

nbme20/Block 1/Question#6 (reveal difficulty score)
A 16-year-old student has uncontrollable ...
Direct transition from wakefulness to REM sleep 🔍 / 📺 / 🌳 / 📖
tags: sleep

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submitted by hayayah(1212)
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In narcolepsy, there is a direct transition from wakefulness to REM sleep. Basically instead of going through the early stages and gradually falling into a deep sleep, you just suddenly go from being awake to being in a deep sleep.

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kamilia20  FA2020 P497(Sleep physiology): Changes in narcolepsy: decrease REM latency. +3
baja_blast  p. 485 for us plebs still using FA 2019 +
randi  FA2019 p. 556 "nocturnal and narcoleptic sleep episodes that start with REM sleep (sleep paralysis)" +



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submitted by drdoom(1206)
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This is an interesting one. I like to remember it this way: in people with narcolepsy, all the “right kinds” of sleep are happening at all the “wrong times” of day. During the day, when a power nap would typically throw you immediately into REM, this kid is only entering Stage 1 or 2 (lightest sleep = slightest noises jar him back to reality). At night, when he should peacefully drift into Stage 1, 2, and so on, he instead completely zonks out. Classic narcolepsy.

From UpToDate: “Narcolepsy can be conceptualized as a disorder of sleep-wake control in which elements of sleep intrude into wakefulness and elements of wakefulness intrude into sleep.”

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chextra  Isn't REM a rather light sleep stage? Brain waves during REM are very similar to awake states. I think you even wake up briefly in the middle of REM sleep. I don't think FA gave me a great understanding of narcolepsy, but I see it as going from awake to REM (light) for any kind of sleep, daytime or night time. +
sammyj98  I'm definitely not ace on this subject, but I think the brain waves present in REM are similar to wakefulness because of the dreaming component. I think of it as though the brain has to go through a process of hypnotizing the body into a state of relaxation, and then properly paralyzing it, and then it can simulate wakefulness (dreaming) to go through with it's defragging of the hard drive. So REM is actually the deepest sleep because the body is fully paralyzed. Please someone correct me, this is probably an inacurrate perspective. +4
pg32  FA says that narcolepsy has nocturnal AND NARCOLEPTIC sleep episodes that start with REM sleep... So is @drdoom correct? FA seems to disagree regarding the daytime sleep pattern. +8



 +1  upvote downvote
submitted by charcot_bouchard(574)
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Narcolepsy has one of the following 3 chraracter - 1. Cataplexy 2. dec orexin in csf 3. REM latency <15 min

its ass with (not dx criteria( Hypnagogin/pompic hallcination. Sleep paralysis

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charcot_bouchard  oh dx criteria must also include excessive daytime slepeiness for 3 time per week over 3 month +



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