Superfusion of clomipramine within the ventromedial hypothalamus selectively suppresses paradoxical sleep in freely moving rats.
Sleep patterns were continuously recorded in rats which received during 2 hours and a half a push-pull superfusion of clomipramine at 10(-6) mol/l or 10(-8) mol/l concentrations, within the ventromedial hypothalamus. The superfusion of 10(-6) mol/l clomipramine resulted in a suppression of paradoxical sleep (PS) and a reduction of slow wave sleep (SWS), whereas lower concentrations of this drug (10(-8) mol/l) suppressed PS but did not affect SWS. In both cases, a secondary rebound of PS was observed. These findings are discussed with regard to the present knowledge of the role of the hypothalamus in sleep.
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D002997:Clomipramine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors; D014697:Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects*
D002997:Clomipramine