Research

People who act out dreams needed for study

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis •
Acting out dreams can be an early sign of serious neurological disease. A new study aims to identify which people with the disorder will go on to develop neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, and to lay the groundwork to test treatments aimed at preventing such diseases.
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Picture this: A soccer referee, dreaming he’s on the pitch, flings his arm up with an imaginary red card and accidentally smacks his sleeping partner in the face. Funny? Maybe on TV. In real life, acting out dreams is not only bad for domestic harmony, it can be a warning sign of looming neurodegenerative disease.