Absence of nystagmus during REM sleep in a patient with waking nystagmus and oscillopsia

Abstract

Polygraphic recording is presented of the sleep pattern in a young male who developed nystagmus and oscillopsia associated with a remittent CNS demyelinating disease. The vestibular nystagmus observed during wakefulness disappeared during all stages of sleep, including rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Since vestibular nystagmus experimentally induced in wakefulness is also absent during all phases of sleep, these findings suggest that during sleep similar suppressive mechanisms are operative.