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This book describes a sleep disorder belonging to the category of parasomnias (i.e. the sleep behavioral and experiential disorders) characterized by abnormal vocal and motor behaviors in the context of vivid dreams and loss of the customary muscle atonia during the stage of sleep called REM sleep. REM-atonia - one of the defining features of REM sleep, along with rapid-eye-movements and a highly activated brain state - serves a protective function, preventing the dreamer from acting-out dreams and becoming injured. REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) was first described in 1986 by Schenck and colleagues; since then the understanding of the condition has increased exponentially, also pointing out its strong association with the development of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by alpha synuclein deposition, such as Parkinson's disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies, and Multiple System Atrophy. Furthermore, RBD is now considered one of the earliest markers of ongoing alpha synuclein neurodegeneration, and provides a window of opportunity for testing disease modifying therapies that may slow down or halt the progression of these disorders for which there is currently no cure. Additionally, RBD is today known to be present in more than 50% of patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy, and can also be triggered by the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications (e.g. SSRIs, venlafaxine). RBD has been documented as occurring, with variable frequency, with virtually every category of neurologic disease and has also helped expand the field of dream research. The volume Editors have pioneered scientific and clinical advances in the field and, partnering with leading sleep clinicians and researchers on this book, have produced an invaluable guide to specialists in sleep medicine, neurology, psychiatry and psychology. There are also strong contributions in this book by leading basic science researchers, and so this book should also appeal to neuroscientists. As stated in the book,'RBD is situated at a strategic and busy crossroads of sleep medicine and the neurosciences. RBD offers great breadth and depth of research opportunities, including extensive inter-disciplinary and multinational research opportunities...RBD is an'experiment of Nature'in which knowledge from the study of motor-behavioral dyscontrol during REM sleep, with dream-enactment, has cast a broad and powerful light on a multitude of Central Nervous System disturbances, their evolution, and their comorbidities.'

This book is the first to take into account the rapidly growing body of knowledge on the relation between sleep and PD. Gathering contributions from internationally recognized experts, it provides a unique source of in-depth information on sleep and circadian dysregulation in Parkinson's disease. The book is divided into two parts: the first comprises chapters on normal sleep-wake homeostasis, followed by changes that occur in PD and discussions of available tools for the assessment of sleep-wake cycles in PD. In the second part, sleep and circadian disorders associated with PD are described in individual chapters, including sections on epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, differential diagnosis, and treatment. Controversies in the field, such as the relations between cognition and sleep, fatigue and sleepiness, and the potential impact of surgical therapies on sleep-wake cycles are discussed separately. The book closes with a chapter on future directions and unmet needs in the field of sleep, circadian biology and PD. This comprehensive text offers a readily accessible resource for clinicians and researchers alike, addressing the needs of neurologists, sleep and movement disorders specialists, and all trainees and allied health professionals involved in the care of patients affected by Parkinson's disease.