The sleep patterns of 6 normals and 6 boys with visual-motor deficits were compared. While none of the usual symptoms of sleep pathology, e.g., insomnia, enuresis, night terrors, or somnambulism, were present in either group, the visual-motor boys showed a marked increase in Stage REM and correlated decrease in Stage 2 sleep. Results were interpreted as in accord with Berger's theory that the biological function of REM sleep is the innervation of anatomical pathways necessary for oculomotor control during waking.
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