ABSTRACT
To reiterate, the classification just set forth indicates only the clinical conditions in which somniloquy has been observed by one or more authors. It is clear that sleep-utterance is associated with a large variety of conditions, which may differ from one another in many respects. The synergistic or additive interaction between the compliance factor and whatever etiological factors are peculiar to each syndrome would then result in sleep-utterance. In the references just cited, gross differences exist in the accounts of various observers of the characteristics of sleep-utterance. The older clinical literature often contained no clear indication as to whether reports were based on first-hand observation. These considerations should be kept in mind regarding the reviews of the bulk of the available clinical literature dealing with sleep-utterance. The perspective from which sleep-utterances are viewed involves the central notion that they are forms of psychic dissociative episodes that occur within a context of sleep, and that may be arranged along a continuum.
