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Idiopathic and Traumatic Narcolepsy. [ The Lancet, 240: 474-476, April 12, 1941.]
Narcolepsy is a term mostly reserved for cases with attacks of uncontrollable sleep, often without known cause. It is doubtful whether narcoleptic attacks are really sleep attacks; most patients remain conscious though they are unable to answer or speak except for an occasional grunt. Superficially they appear to be in a natural sleep; some awaken to a light touch or call, others to more Strenuous stimulation. Most of them are quite fresh and wideawake, but some are irritable, mentally dull or even angry. The attacks usually are without warning, but anything tending to induce sleep is likely to precipitate them. The usual nocturnal sleep is