Narcolepsy Mental Disorder

2124 Words9 Pages
Running Head: Narcolepsy Narcolepsy: Mental Disorder or Natural Cause Johnny Richardson American Military University 19 January 2013 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to address what narcolepsy is and is not. It will express the differences in diagnosis of the disorder and the common medications used for it. The effects of the environment and lifestyles upon narcolepsy will be examined. Research will show the differences when medications are given as opposed to placebos. A world view of the disorder will be shown to determine cross-cultural and geographical percentages. Narcolepsy will be viewed primarily from three different areas being the physiological, psychological and as a mental…show more content…
Sleep paralysis is a condition that restricts the body from moving and at times speaking while in the transition of falling asleep or awakening (Wickens). There are two other sleep stages that must be addressed to show the steps of narcolepsy in the body. The first being nonrapid eye movement sleep (NREM) which is the first phase at the start of sleep (Nishino). NREM only occurs for about the first hour and a half of sleep then is followed by rapid eye movement(REM) sleep where dreaming takes place. It is common in normal sleep patterns to move in and out of REM and NREM sleep but it was found to be more increased among narcolepsy patients to move into REM more often than normal (Nishino). This occurrence in narcolepsy patients was found to be more regular during the falling to sleep period and even sometimes immediately after (Nishino). Patients of narcolepsy were found to be falling more rapidly into REM sleep than others. This was is due to the lack of the brain chemical hypocretin which is responsible for…show more content…
S., Okuro, M. M., Kotorii, N. N., Anegawa, E. E., Ishimaru, Y. Y., Matsumura, M. M., & Kanbayashi, T. T. (2010). Hypocretin/orexin and narcolepsy: new basic and clinical insights. Acta Physiologica, 198(3), 209-222. This article discusses narcolepsy from the areas of mental, physiological and neurological. Hypocretin ligand deficiency(HLD) will confirm or deny relations between genetics and patients with narcolepsy. It covers in detail medications and therapies that are prescribed for this disorder along with their side effects. Narcolepsy will be discussed in relation to rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. The pathophysiology of narcolepsy will be expressed from its discovery with indications of percentages with cataplexy and those without. Miyagawa, T., Kawamura, H., Obuchi, M., Ikesaki, A., Ozaki, A., Tokunaga, K., & ... Honda, M. (2013). Effects of Oral L-Carnitine Administration in Narcolepsy Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Cross-Over and Placebo-Controlled Trial. Plos Clinical Trials, 8(1), 1-6.

More about Narcolepsy Mental Disorder

Open Document