Dissociation of motor control from motor awareness in awake sleepwalkers: An EEG study in virtual reality

Recent behavioral evidence indicates that awake sleepwalkers show dissociation of motor control and motor awareness in a virtual reality (VR) paradigm. Intriguingly, this dissociation resembles the nocturnal disintegration of motor awareness and movement during episodes of sleepwalking. Here, we set out to examine the neural underpinnings of altered motor agency in sleepwalkers by measuring EEG modulation during redirected walking in VR. Using this approach, we discovered distinct EEG patterns in awake sleepwalkers indicating facilitated dual tasking and salient habitual motor control as compared to healthy subjects. These observations provide electrophysiological evidence for the proposed brain-body dissociation in awake sleepwalkers. In conclusion, this study shows proof-of-principle that EEG biomarkers of movement in a VR setting might add to the diagnostic work-up of awake sleepwalkers.