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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 1999;281:499-501.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

LOS ANGELES—The Society of Neuroscience's annual meeting offers a scientific smorgasbord of new research findings about the brain and nervous system. The most recent meeting was no exception, with reports on areas ranging from the etiology of narcolepsy through the potential of nicotinelike drugs to enhance memory to a possible link between an infectious agent and Alzheimer disease (AD).

INSIGHTS INTO NARCOLEPSY

New studies suggest that people with narcolepsy face a double whammy: Not only do they have trouble staying awake, their sleep is disturbed as well.

Individuals with narcolepsy may experience other symptoms besides excessive sleepiness, including cataplexy (a temporary loss of muscle tone in response to strong emotion), generalized paralysis at the time of falling asleep or awakening, and hallucinations when they nod off. They also are prone to shift into the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep more quickly than people with normal . . . [Full Text of this Article]