London, Oct 29 (IANS) Sleepwalkers are known to perform complex movements such as walking in the absence of full consciousness. A new research using virtual reality (VR) has revealed significant differences in how the brains of sleepwalkers and non-sleepwalkers control and perceive body movement. The results of the study, published in the Journal Current Biology, indicated that sleepwalkers exhibit increased automation in their movements with respect to non-sleepwalkers. There was no difference between sleepwalkers and non-sleepwalkers while performing this first task -- just as previous research would have suggested. Non-sleepwalkers significantly slowed down when having to count backward while walking, yet sleepwalkers maintained a similar walking velocity in both conditions, showing a strong link between sleepwalking and automatic control of locomotion not during nocturnal episodes of sleepwalkers, but during full wakefulness.

Source: Economic Times October 29, 2017 05:15 UTC