Dream Enactment Behavior: A Documented Case Presenation with a Transition from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to REM Behavior Disorder

Abstract

Dream enactment behavior (DEB) contains the hallmark criteria for the diagnosis of REM behavior disorder (RBD), and it is attributed as the underlying mechanism with its distinct pathology and presentation. The recently described condition, trauma associated sleep disorder (TSD), is closely related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and shares the same diagnostic criteria as RBD; however, they differ significantly in their underlying pathophysiology. The transition from one to another has not been described well and is only self-reported in the medical literature. This article describes a case study of a patient with a history of PTSD in remission who developed symptoms typical of idiopathic RBD unrelated to the patient’s previous trauma. As RBD has not been well-studied within the general population, this case study is unique since the idiopathic RBD was captured via polysomnogram (PSG).