Summary
Three Macaca, mulatta monkeys were administered parenteral reserpine (0.25 mg/kg), iproniazid (50 mg/kg), and tranylcypromine (2 mg/kg) in a counterbalanced design for seven days. All-night EEG sleep recordings were obtained prior to and during drug administration.
Reserpine significantly increased the amount of paradoxical sleep, and decreased the latency to paradoxical sleep onset. Iproniazid significantly decreased the amount of paradoxical sleep and increased the latency to its onset. Tranylcypromine significantly increased the latency to paradoxical sleep onset, but did not decrease the amount of paradoxical sleep.
The results are similar to the effect these drugs have on sleep in man, and sleep patterns after reserpine are similar to the sleep patterns of certain patients with psychotic depressive illness, suggesting that the common sleep patterns may in both cases represent an underlying deficiency of noradrenalin.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hartmann, E.: Reserpine: Its effect on the sleep-dream cycle of man. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 9, 242–247 (1966).
Hishikawa, Y., K. Nakai, H. Ida, and Z. Kaneko: The effect of imipramine, desmethylimipramine and chlorpromazine on the sleep-wakefulness cycle of the cat. Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol. 19, 518–521 (1965).
Jouvet, M.: Mechanisms of the states of sleep: A neuropharmacological approach. In: Res. Pub. Assn. Res. Nerv. Ment. Dis., Sleep and altered states of consciousness. Vol. 45, pp. 86–126. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins 1967.
Khazan, N., and F. G. Sulman: Effect of impramine on paradoxical sleep in animals with reference to dreaming and enuresis. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 10, 89–95 (1966).
Kripke, D. F., M. L. Reite, G. V. Pegram, L. M. Stephens, and O. F. Lewis: Nocturnal sleep in rhesus monkeys. Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol. 24, 582–586 (1968).
Mendels, J., and D. R. Hawkins: Sleep and depression: A controlled EEG study. Arch. gen. Psychiat. 16, 344–354 (1967).
Pscheidt, G. R., C. Morpurgo, and H. Himwich: Studies on norephinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine in various species. In: Richter, D. (Ed.); Comparative neurochemistry, pp. 401–412. New York: Pergamon Press 1964.
Rechtschaffen, A., and L. Maron: The effect of amphetamine on the sleep cycle. Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol. 16, 438–445 (1964).
Reite, M. L., J. M. Rhodes, E. Kavan, and W. R. Adey: Normal sleep patterns in Macaque monkey. Arch. Neurol. (Chic.) 12, 133–144 (1965).
Ryba, P., D. M. Engelhardt, N. Freedman, and A. Shaprio: The effects of imipramine on sleep patterns in psychiatric patients. Presented to the Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep, March, 1966.
Schildkraut, J. J.: The catecholamine hypothesis of affective disorders: A review of supporting evidence. Amer. J. Psychiat. 122, 509–522 (1965).
Snyder, F.: Electrographic studies of sleep in depression. Presented to the IV. World Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid, Spain, September 1966.
Weitzman, E. D., M. M. Rapport, P. McGregor, and J. Jacoby: Sleep patterns of the monkey and brain serotonin concentration: Effect of p-chlorophenylalanine. Science 160, 1361–1363 (1968).
Wurtman, R. J.: Catecholamines, p. 81. Boston: Little, Brown 1966.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reite, M., Pegram, G.V., Stephens, L.M. et al. The effect of reserpine and monoamine oxidase inhibitors on paradoxical sleep in the monkey. Psychopharmacologia 14, 12–17 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401529
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401529