EXPLANATIONS OF SLEEP

WALKING - I, R(P)(H), C, BL, D

A01
Incomplete arousal
One explanation of sleepwalking is that the sleepwalker is in
a state of incomplete arousal. A person who is sleep walking
is partly awake in the sense they are still engaged in
activities normally associated with the wake state but in
fact, they are still asleep. They are in SWS which is deep
sleep; this makes it diffi cult to wake the sleep walker up.
Recordings of brain activity made during sleep show a
mixture of the delta waves which are found in SWS and also
beta waves which are usually found in the awake state. So
when sleep walking occurs the individual is in deep sleep but
is awakened and then the arousal of the brain is incomplete
(which is why they arent fully awake).

Risk factors
Another explanation for sleep walking is exposure to
additional risk factors. Certain things can increase the
chance of sleep walking such as sleep deprivation, alcohol,
having a fever and stress. Plazzi et al highlighted that
hormonal changes during puberty and menstruation may
also be trigger sleep walking. However, because these risk
factors only trigger some individuals to sleep walk means
they must have some sort of inherited vulnerability for sleep
walking. Hublin et al found that sleepwalking may also be
genetic. In the study of Finnish twins reported that there is a
concordance rate of 60% and these high fi gures suggests a
genetic component.

Why children?
A further explanation looks into the fact that sleepwalking
appears to occur much more in children than adults. One
reason for this might happen is because children have more
SWS than adults. Oliviero et al suggested that the system

that reduces motor activity in SWS is not developed in some

children and it also may be underdeveloped in some adults.
They demonstrated this in a study that examined the motor
excitably of adult sleepwalkers during wakefulness.
Compared to normal controls, the sleepwalkers had signs of
immaturity in neural circuits.

A02
There is research evidence to support the idea that
sleepwalking may be inherited. Broughton et al found that if
you have a fi rst degree relative that sleepwalks you are 10x
more likely to sleep walk than the general population.
Lecendreaux et al found a 50% concordance rate in MZ twins
compared to 15% in DZ twins. This supported that
sleepwalking may have a biological cause supporting the
nature side of the nature-nurture debate, however it is
diffi cult to determine to what extent that sleepwalking is
genetic due to MZ twins usually being raised in similar
environments, therefore this could be deterministic, as there
may be psychological explanations such as conditioning in
some form of exposure to people suff ering from
sleepwalking.
The diathesis-stress model suggests that genes provide
vulnerability for a disorder but this will not develop without
an environmental trigger. Zadra et al demonstrated this; in
their study 40 patients were referred to a sleep lab for
suspected sleep walking. In the sleep lab they were sleep
deprived. On the fi rst night 50% of the sleepwalkers had
shown signs of sleepwalking, which rose to 90% on the
second night. Sleep deprivation does not lead to
sleepwalking in normal individuals. Therefore the
sleepwalking was a stressor in individuals who had
vulnerability for sleepwalking.
Explanations that propose sleepwalking is due to genes or
environmental factors alone are reductionist. Theories fail to
explain the complex nature of how sleepwalking occurs
through the interaction of genes and the environment.
Therefore it is deterministic to assume we have no free will
or control over sleepwalking
Explanations that propose sleepwalking is extremely
important in real world application also. In some cases it has

been used as a case for murder trials and it is important to

establish exactly how it occurs and what level of control the
individual has. For example, in the case of Jules Lowe who
murdered his father cited sleepwalking as a defence. He was
eventually acquitted after tests showed he had a tendency
to sleepwalk.