A video-polygraphic study of the cataplectic attack | [Studio video-poligrafico della caduta cataplettica]

We studied, by means of video-polygraphic techniques, the clinical and polygraphic features of 7 cataplectic attacks in a patient with narcolepsy. Clinically, the cataplectic attacks were characterized by progressively increasing losses of the postural tone of cranial and limb muscles, that corresponded, in the polygraphic tracing, to a pattern of rhythmic suppression and enhancement of EMG activity. These findings suggests that the cataplectic fit occurs through a complex modulation, with inhibitory and excitatory phenomena, of the postural control system.