COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF ZOLPIDEM AND FLUNITRAZEPAM ON SLEEP STRUCTURE AND DAYTIME COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS - A STUDY OF UNTREATED UNSOMNIACS

The effects of zolpidem 10 mg, flunitrazepam 1 mg, and placebo, admini strated at bedtime, were studied in 12 healthy male insomniac patients . The assessments included polygraphic sleep recordings during the nig ht and a battery of cognitive tests (sign crossing test, dichotic list ening test, digit span test, visual recognition test and free recall t est during four times during the following day, Compared with placebo, both active drugs improved sleep parameters, However, with zolpidem, the results were not statistically different from placebo. Zolpidem di t not alter sleep architecture in contrast to flunitrazepam, which sig nificantly increased stage 2 and decreased slow wave sleep and REM sle ep. No significant interaction was found between time of day for the e valuation of cognitive function, Flunitrazepam significantly impaired attention and memory compared with zolpidem and placebo, while zolpide m did not differ from placebo. These results indicate that zolpidem 10 mg preserved sleep structure and daytime cognitive functions in contr ast to flunitrazepam.