- Dedication
- Contributors
- 1 Sleep Medicine and Psychiatry
- 2 Sleep Architecture and Physiology
- 3 Neurobiology of Sleep and Wakefulness
- 4 Circadian Rhythms
- 5 Sleep and Cognition
- 6 Office-Based Evaluation of Sleep Disordered Patients
- 7 Clinical Applications of Technical Procedures in Sleep Medicine
- 8 Insomnia Disorder—Pathophysiology
- 9 Pharmacological Management of Insomnia
- 10 Insomnia—Behavioral Treatments
- 11 Hypersomnolence Disorders
- 12 Parasomnias
- 13 Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders
- 14 Sleep-Related Movement Disorders
- 15 Breathing-Related Sleep Disorders
- 16 Pediatric Sleep–Wake Disorders
- 17 Depressive Disorders
- 18 Bipolar and Related Disorders
- 19 Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders
- 20 Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
- 21 Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders
- 22 Substance Use Disorders
- 23 Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- 24 Delirium
- 25 Neurocognitive Disorders
- 26 Neurological Disorders
- 27 Pain Disorders
- 28 Psychotropic Medications and Sleep
- 29 Forensic Sleep Medicine
- 30 Eating Disorders
- 31 Future of Sleep Medicine and Psychiatry
- Index
(p. 497) Forensic Sleep Medicine
- Chapter:
- (p. 497) Forensic Sleep Medicine
- Author(s):
Kenneth J. Weiss
, Clarence Watson
, and Mark R. Pressman
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780190929671.003.0029
Patients with sleep disorders can exhibit behavior that includes violent acts. The behavior may occur during various sleep stages, ranges in complexity, and requires an analysis of consciousness. When the behavior harms another person and criminal charges follow, expert testimony will be required to explain the physiology of the disorder and impairments in consciousness that determine criminal culpability, that is, whether there was conscious intent behind the behavior. In this chapter, sleep-related conditions associated with violent behavior are discussed, along with guidelines for presenting scientific testimony in court. These disorders include rapid eye movement (REM) behavior disorder, somnambulism and other non-REM partial awakenings, and hypersomnolence. Feigned symptoms and malingering must be ruled out, and the clinical parameters for them are discussed. While the physiology of sleep disorders has widely been known, admissibility in court is not automatic. Standards for acceptable expert testimony are discussed.
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- Dedication
- Contributors
- 1 Sleep Medicine and Psychiatry
- 2 Sleep Architecture and Physiology
- 3 Neurobiology of Sleep and Wakefulness
- 4 Circadian Rhythms
- 5 Sleep and Cognition
- 6 Office-Based Evaluation of Sleep Disordered Patients
- 7 Clinical Applications of Technical Procedures in Sleep Medicine
- 8 Insomnia Disorder—Pathophysiology
- 9 Pharmacological Management of Insomnia
- 10 Insomnia—Behavioral Treatments
- 11 Hypersomnolence Disorders
- 12 Parasomnias
- 13 Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders
- 14 Sleep-Related Movement Disorders
- 15 Breathing-Related Sleep Disorders
- 16 Pediatric Sleep–Wake Disorders
- 17 Depressive Disorders
- 18 Bipolar and Related Disorders
- 19 Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders
- 20 Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
- 21 Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders
- 22 Substance Use Disorders
- 23 Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- 24 Delirium
- 25 Neurocognitive Disorders
- 26 Neurological Disorders
- 27 Pain Disorders
- 28 Psychotropic Medications and Sleep
- 29 Forensic Sleep Medicine
- 30 Eating Disorders
- 31 Future of Sleep Medicine and Psychiatry
- Index