Lancet neurology
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Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with Lewy body disease pathology in central and peripheral nervous system structures. Although the cause of Parkinson's disease is not fully understood, clinicopathological analyses have led to the development of a staging system for Lewy body disease-associated pathological changes. ⋯ One such manifestation of prodromal Parkinson's disease is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder, which is a parasomnia manifested by vivid dreams associated with dream enactment behaviour during REM sleep. Findings from animal and human studies have suggested that lesions or dysfunction in REM sleep and motor control circuitry in the pontomedullary structures cause REM sleep behaviour disorder phenomenology, and degeneration of these structures might explain the presence of REM sleep behaviour disorder years or decades before the onset of parkinsonism in people who develop Parkinson's disease.