Sleep Paralysis: Pathogenesis, Clinical Manifestations, and Treatment Strategies.
Journal of Integrative Neuroscience August 25, 2025 Yi'an Wang, Qi Li, Zhijun Zhong et al.
Sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up, caused by REM-sleep muscle atonia persisting into wakefulness. The brain's subcoeruleus nucleus (or sublaterodorsal nucleus in rats) primarily induces this paralysis. The condition appears in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders as a REM-sleep parasomnia, either isolated or narcolepsy-associated. This article systematically reviews the neural circuits controlling REM sleep, predisposing factors, clinical features, and treatments for sleep paralysis, compares isolated and narcolepsy-associated forms, and speculates on microsleep's role.