Abstract
Cataplexy is one of the hallmark symptoms of patients diagnosed with narcolepsy type 1 (N1 = narcolepsy with cataplexy). Our pathophysiologic understanding of cataplexy has been based on the hypothesis that the loss of muscle tone characteristic for cataplectic attacks (CA) is identical to muscle atonia in REM sleep.1 However, this hypothesis has not been proved in humans since cataplexy can hardly be provoked experimentally. Recently, F-waves have been shown to be a valuable marker for spinal inhibition in REM sleep.2 We present F-wave recordings in 3 patients with N1 before, during, and after a CA (figure) to test whether the level of spinal excitability in cataplexy equals that in REM sleep.
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