Cataplexy, a Major Symptom of Narcolepsy, Is Characterized by a Sudden, Bilateral Loss of Muscle Tone (and Possible Fall) with Preserved

CATAPLEXY, A MAJOR SYMPTOM OF NARCOLEPSY, IS CHARACTERIZED BY A SUDDEN, BILATERAL LOSS OF MUSCLE TONE (AND POSSIBLE FALL) WITH PRESERVED consciousness. It is usually triggered by emotions such as laughter, attempt at repartee, or anger. Although cataplexy is seen as an isolated intrusion of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep atonia into wakefulness, the neural structures underlying it are however roughly unknown. Because cataplexy is a transient and partly unpredictable condition, it is difficult to capture brain functional imaging during a complete episode of cataplexy. We took the opportunity of status cataplecticus, a condition caused by the withdrawal of anticataplectic drugs in which hundreds of cataplectic attacks occur per day, to compare the cerebral function activity during and after a cataplectic episode in a narcoleptic patient.