Perception and Action in Sleep

This chapter aims to examine the different facets of perception and action within the context of parasomnias. The various disorders are characterized by a dissociation between wakefulness and sleep/dream, with two extreme phenomena existing: sleepwalking and lucid dreaming. In the first case, actions take place in reality while the inner experience is absent. In the second case, actions occur in the perceived reality, but the actions are not carried outward. The distinction between inside and outside helps to describe the dissociation between wakefulness and sleep/dream more closely. Furthermore, motor control theories could help to better understand the neural mechanisms behind these phenomena by focusing on the inner and outer actions.