A Case of Narcolepsy Misdiagnosed as Schizophrenia

Iqbal, Nireman; Danish, Nilam; Ebrahim, Ayesha; Naeem, Aneeqah; Khawaja, Imran S.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-11772-6_7

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This confusion may happen from very rarely to rather frequently depending on sociocultural factors that are difficult to ascertain, since formal studies are not available. In clinical contexts, misinterpreting hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences as hallucinations may lead to misdiagnosis, mistreatment, and stigma ( 15–19 ). In research contexts, the misinterpretation may produce misconception and bias.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders

Foffani

2023

PNAS Nexus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The boundaries between waking and sleeping –when falling asleep (hypnagogic) or waking up (hypnopompic)– can be challenging for our ability to monitor and interpret reality. Without proper understanding, bizarre but relatively normal hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences can be misinterpreted as psychotic hallucinations (occurring by definition in the fully awake state), potentially leading to stigma and misdiagnosis in clinical contexts and to misconception and bias in research contexts. This Perspective proposes that conceptual and practical understanding for differentiating hallucinations from hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences may be offered by lucid dreaming, the state in which one is aware of dreaming while sleeping. I first introduce a possible systematization of the phenomenological range of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences that can occur in the transition from awake to REM dreaming (including hypnagogic perceptions, transition symptoms, sleep paralysis, false awakenings and out-of-body experiences). I then outline how metacognitive strategies used by lucid dreamers to gain/confirm oneiric lucidity could be tested for better differentiating hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences from hallucinations. The relevance of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming is analyzed for schizophrenia and narcolepsy, and discussed for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Lewy-body disorders (i.e. Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies), offering testable hypotheses for empirical investigation. Finally, emotionally positive lucid dreams triggered or enhanced by training/induction strategies or by a pathological process may have intrinsic therapeutic value if properly recognized and guided. The overall intention is to raise awareness and foster further research about the possible diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders

Foffani

2023

PNAS Nexus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

A Case of Narcolepsy Misdiagnosed as Schizophrenia

Cited by 1 publication

References 2 publications

To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders

To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About