Welcome. I am Carlos Schenck, M.D. from the University of Minnesota. I have been a sleep medicine specialist for 23 years, and a psychiatrist for 24 years. I am Co-Chairman of the Parasomnias Committee in revising the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, which will be published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2004. My other qualifications are listed in a separate menu on this website.

My caseload is filled with patients having the conditions listed above—conditions called Parasomnias, which encompass abnormal behaviors, perceptions, experiences, and autonomic nervous system activity during sleep or during arousals from sleep. Primitive appetites and aggressions often become unleashed and intertwined with the Parasomnias, which can affect people of all ages—even a fetus in utero. Parasomnias are surprisingly common, and can be properly diagnosed and effectively treated.

There is a strong need to spread the word about Parasomnias, since many people still don't know about them, or else don't know what to do about them for themselves or for someone in their lives. Parasomnias can cause injury, disrupted sleep, health problems, interpersonal problems, shame, bewilderment, and depression from repeated loss of self-control at night. Fortunately, help should be readily available, as Parasomnias and other sleep disorders can be evaluated and treated at accredited sleep disorders centers. The National Sleep Foundation website (www.sleepfoundation.org) is an excellent resource for finding an accredited sleep center in your area—just click on "Sleep Services" on its homepage.

Mission of website:
Provide an expanding resource of scientific and human-interest information about the Parasomnias, which comprise an amazing group of sleep disorders. Parasomnias are where fascinating patient stories converge with provocative scientific discovery. I will have my patients and their families tell their unique stories, I will present the current classification of the Parasomnias and explain the underlying science, I will discuss the positive news about treatment, and I will consider a number of compelling questions raised by the Parasomnias, such as the tricky concept of "non-insane automatism" and the sleepwalking defense in criminal cases—in this regard, I will present and discuss the famous 1987 Toronto case of Ken Parks, who was acquitted of murdering his mother-in-law while sleepwalking. There is also the astounding matter of how a distinct change in sleep consciousness, followed weeks or months later by complex and aggressive dream-enactment, can be the first signs—by 1 or 2 decades—of eventual Parkinson's disease. What is going on with sleep, the brain, and the dreaming mind in the REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)—Parkinson's Disease connection?

I am writing a book on Parasomnias that will be published in October 2004, and will be available from this website. The title is "Paradox Lost: Midnight In The Battleground Of Sleep And Dreams." A video-documentary in DVD format on Parasomnias is also being produced and will be completed by October 2004, and will also be available from this website. The title is "Sleep Runners: The Stories Behind Everyday Parasomnias." I co-produced this documentary, which was filmed, edited, and co-produced by the filmmaker Brian Dehler, founder of DV-Cinema in Minneapolis.

I am putting some sample chapters from my book on the website: stories from a sleep-driver, a sleep-eater, and a group of RBD dreamactors and their wives who discuss their unusual nocturnal dramas. Please go to the book section of this website to preview these sample chapters. And please go to DVD link to view the trailer for the video-documentary. It will soon be evident why Oprah, CNN, CBS-48 Hours, ABC-20/20, ABC-Good Morning America, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Geographic, Readers Digest, US News & World Report, and other media outlets have broadcast shows and run stories about my patients and various recently-discovered Parasomnias.

This website, and the book and DVD are intended to inform a broad cross-section of the general public, and also students and professionals across diverse disciplines, such as medicine, nursing, sleep technology, the law, neurosciences, psychology, nutrition, etc.

A useful clinical approach for understanding Parasomnias and for identifying the "target symptoms" for treatment is to formulate a "Mental Status Exam of Sleep." The "MSE" is a cornerstone of the fields of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Geriatrics, and it should also be a cornerstone of Sleep Medicine, especially with the Parasomnias. This translates into the question: what are the components of the Parasomnia experience? There are at least 8 components that occur within dynamic contexts, and with therapeutic implications:

1. Motor-Behavioral
2. Dream-Cognitive
3. Mood-Emotional
4. Perception
5. Eating
6. Sexual
7. Autonomic Nervous System activity
8. Epileptic activity

1. Within REM sleep
2. Within Non-REM sleep
3. During Arousals From REM or Non-REM sleep
4. During Mixed States of Sleep and Wakefulness

A full range of dynamic associations, dissociations, and recombinations of these Parasomnia components during sleep exists, for all age groups and for each gender.

IV) Therapeutics:

1. 1) The clinician must first identify the "target symptoms" for which treatment is directed.
2. 2) An important clinical task is to assess the impact of treatment on the severity and frequency of these Parasomnia components.