Conventional and spectral power analysis of all-night sleep EEG after subchronic treatment with paroxetine in healthy male volunteers

Paroxetine is a selective and potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor with repo rted antidepressant properties. Since changes in the regular sleeping patte rn were described as side effects under treatment with paroxetine, the impa ct of the drug on the sleep architecture is of major interest. The present study addressed the question of subchronic effects of paroxetine medication (30 mg/day) in eight healthy male volunteers in a double blind, placebo-co ntrolled crossover-design. Conventional sleep EEG parameters and additional ly computed spectral power analysis based on FFT of 20-s time epochs in the delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma frequency range for different sleep st ages after 4 weeks of treatment were investigated. Subchronic paroxetine ad ministration in healthy subjects led to a prolonged REM latency and a decre ase in the number of REM phases, whereas sleep efficiency, total sleep time , sleep onset latency, number of awakenings, and awake during sleep period time were not altered by paroxetine medication. Moreover, we could not dete ct any alterations of the spectral power values in certain frequency bands during NREM or REM sleep following subchronic paroxetine medication. (C) 19 98 Elsevier Science B.V./ECNP. All rights reserved.