Genetics of Parasomnias

The parasomnias are complex disorders that vary in quality, frequency, and duration, even within a single patient. This review summarizes the current understanding of genetic influences on parasomnias. Although many studies on families and twins support significant genetic contributions to several types of parasomnias, such as the spectrum of arousal parasomnias (sleepwalking, sleep terrors) and sleep-related enuresis, specific genes have seldom been directly implicated. Further research is needed to discern whether potential contributing roles of other sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, may result from gene effects, and might trigger parasomnias as a consequence of increased arousal probability. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.