On 26 Aug 2004, Deb Briihl wrote: > Got a few questions from my intro students on sleep. > 1. What has happened in the cases of REM sleep disorder in which the person > has committed a crime? Anyone know the outcomes? > 2. When you are under anesthesia, what stage sleep are you in? I'm assuming > that it is similar to sleep when drunk and that REM sleep is reduced.
Sleep answers (maybe): 1. The two most recent high-profile cases are those of Kenneth Parks (Broughton, 1987) and Scott Falater (1999). Kenneth Parks was a Toronto-area electronics technician who got up in the middle of the night, drove 23 km to his in-law's house, assaulted his father-in-law and murdered his mother-in-law. He was found not guilty of murder, his act being that of "noninsane automatism". The verdict was upheld on appeal to the Supreme Court (of Canada, natcherly). For what it's worth, I agree with that verdict. But I still wouldn't want to be anywhere near him when he's sleeping. Scott Falater was a manager in Arizona who stabbed his wife 44 times in the middle of the night, then returned to drown her in their swimming pool. He was found guilty of murder in the first degree and given life, with no possibility of parole. For what it's worth, I think that was a miscarriage of justice. I don't think that it can be asserted that either of these are clear cases of REM sleep disorder. It's unclear exactly what state they were in when committing their acts, and Broughton, the Canadian neurologist who studied Parks, cautiously refers to it as "somnambulism". Cartwright (2004) has an excellent recent review of the cases and their implications. She consider them sleepwalking disorders involving violence (I'll say!) different from REM behavior disorder. 2. My guess is that under general anesthesia the EEG shows primarily large, slow waves, and so would be classified as stages 3 and 4 or delta sleep or slow-wave sleep. But it may depend on the type of anesthesia. Ketamine, a so-called "dissociative anesthetic agent", I recall, produces low-voltage fast activity characteristic of the waking state. But I also recall that it's primarily an animal anesthetic these days, and a drug of abuse for humans. Stephen Broughton, R. et al (1994). Homicidal somnambulism:a case report. Sleep, 17, 253-264. Scott Falater case: (enough stuff for anyone) http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/falater/background.html http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/falater/0704sleep.html http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/falater/0609sleep.html (the last is Roger Broughton's testimony as an expert witness) Cartwright, R. (2004). Sleepwalking violence: a sleep disorder, a legal dilemma, and psychological challenge. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1149-1158. ___________________________________________________ Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm _______________________________________________ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
