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The role of sleep regulation in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) was studied in 11
female SAD patients and eight controls in winter before and after light treatment
(LT, 6000 lux, 10–14h, 5 days). The sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded
at baseline and after the total sleep deprivation (TSD) of a 40-h constant routine.
The well-known effects of TSD on sleep parameters and on EEG power spectra were replicated,
indicating normal homeostatic sleep regulation in SAD. Sleep improved after LT in
both groups. Since the condition following LT was the second session, these improvements
may be an order effect and/or an effect of LT itself. After LT, sleep EEG spectra
of SAD patients, but not of controls, showed modifications resembling those of recovery
sleep. Since only SAD patients curtailed their sleep while remitting during the LT
period, these EEG modifications can be explained by normal sleep regulation alone.
We conclude that the robust antidepressant effect of LT in SAD is unlikely to be mediated
by changes in sleep, and that sleep regulatory mechanisms are not a crucial factor
in the pathogenesis of winter depression.
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
September 22,
1995
Received:
March 6,
1995
Footnotes
Support was received from the Swiss National Science Foundation grants #32-28741.90 and 32-32300.91 and the Roche Research Foundation.
Identification
Copyright
© 1996 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc.
