Fenomeni parossistici non epilettici nel sonno in eta pediatrica

In pediatric age, sleep-related non-epileptic paroxysmal phenomena are common events that should be clearly recogniged, especially if they are present in otherwise epileptic subjects. Sleep-related non epileptic paroxysmal phenomena include: sleep-related movement disorders, NREM arousal disorders, and REM-sleep parasomnia. Among the sleep-related movement disorders special attention should be addressed to periodic sleep starts, a common event in neurologically impaired children, to benign neonatal sleep myoclonus, a spontaneous self-limited sleep myoclonus of newborn, and to the rhythmic movement disorders of sleep, which comprise head banging (jactatio capitis), body rocking and head rolling. Among the NREM arousal disorders special attention should be reserved to confusional awakening and to sleep terrors.