Sleep Disorders and Violence – Review of Literature

Abstract

Sleeping disorders (parasomnias and nocturnal epilepsy) could require forensic scientific examination. In fact,
violent behavior occurring during sleep is frequent, concerning 2% of the population. The main etiologies in
question are sleepwalking, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorders and frontal lobe nocturnal epilepsy.
International literature shows that numerous homicide cases base their defense on such sleep disorders. The
difficulty for the psychiatric expert is to identify by means of clinical and paraclinical indicators such sleep disorders.
To accomplish this, collaboration with a sleep assessment centre and with sleep specialists proves indispensable.
Otherwise, the medical assessment must be adapted in order to avoid any recidivism