Wicket spikes during rapid eye movement sleep.

Wicket spikes correspond to a normal variant activity. They usually occur in adults over 50 years of age during drowsiness and light nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. No data exist in the precise distribution of this activity during all the different sleep stages, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The authors report five observations of persistence of this activity during REM sleep. Only one patient was over 50 years of age. The authors found a predominant expression on one temporal side, but inconsistently on the left side (three on the left side versus two on the right side). Wicket spikes always persist in REM sleep. They have an identical morphology as drowsiness or stage 2 sleep. There were no changes in their location. The authors found no correlation with the tonic or phasic phases of REM sleep.