European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Oct 2016
Pharmacodynamic effects of suvorexant and zolpidem on EEG during sleep in healthy subjects.
The objective of this study was to evaluate sleep electrophysiology in healthy subjects after bedtime administration of therapeutic doses of two insomnia treatments - the orexin receptor antagonist suvorexant or the GABAergic agonist zolpidem. Eighteen healthy men received single bedtime doses of suvorexant 20mg, zolpidem 10mg, or placebo in a double-blinded, randomized, balanced 3-period crossover study. EEG power spectral densities during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep were recorded in a polysomnography (PSG) laboratory using a 19-lead EEG recording array. ⋯ Zolpidem reduced latency to persistent sleep whereas suvorexant did not. Suvorexant decreased wake after sleep onset, whereas zolpidem did not. These findings suggest that EEG power spectral density profile after administration of suvorexant in healthy subjects more closely approximates placebo sleep physiology than after zolpidem treatment.