Sleep Forensics: a critical review of the literature and brief comments on the Brazilian legal situation

Sleep medicine is a relatively new field among Medical Sciences. Its legal aspects are still obscure, either for lack of knowledge of the biological mechanisms underlying violent behaviour during sleep or the virtual absence of clear legal and uniformly accepted guidelines as to whether to punish or...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Raimundo Nonato Delgado-Rodrigues, Alexander N. Allen, Leandro Galuzzi dos Santos, Carlos H. Schenck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2014-02-01
Series:Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2014000200164&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:Sleep medicine is a relatively new field among Medical Sciences. Its legal aspects are still obscure, either for lack of knowledge of the biological mechanisms underlying violent behaviour during sleep or the virtual absence of clear legal and uniformly accepted guidelines as to whether to punish or treat those disorders. An updated review of the pertinent literature was performed to determine the most prevalent pathological conditions involving violence and sleep and to identify their most common precipitating factors, attempting to provide some technical support to aid Brazilian medical-experts or assistants in preparing substantial and scientific-based reports in a legal environment.
ISSN:1678-4227