title: The effects of paradoxical sleep deprivation on estrous cycles of the female rats.
abstract: The present purpose was to examine how sleep deprivation affects the estrous cycle of the female rat. Paradoxical sleep-deprived (PSD) adult female Wistar rats were compared to home-cage control (CTRL) on their estrous cyclicity. Forty-four PSD and forty-four CTRL female rats were distributed into 4 subgroups of 11 animals each according to the phase of estrous cycle and were subjected to sleep deprivation for 96 h by the multiple platform technique. After PSD period, vaginal estrous cycles were taken for an additional 9 days. Animals that were submitted to PSD in diestrus phase (PSD-diestrus) had their estrous cycles disrupted during the recovery period by showing a constant diestrus during the first week. As for hormone alterations, progesterone concentrations were statistically higher in PSD-diestrus compared to respective phase control and to PSD-proestrus and PSD-estrus rats while CTRL-metestrus had higher levels than CTRL-proestrus and estrus groups. Testosterone was significantly decreased in PSD-estrus in relation to PSD-proestrus and PSD-diestrus groups and was lower in CTRL-diestrus rats than in home-cage rats in proestrus. In addition, PSD-diestrus phase exhibited higher concentrations of corticosterone and lower estrogen than the respective control rats. These data indicate that PSD may modulate the ovarian hormone release through alterations in hormonal-neurochemical mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, UNIFESP/EPM, Rua Napoleão de Barros, 925, Vila Clementino 04024-002, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabela B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: Monica L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Edmundo C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Baracat
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tufik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D004970:Estrone / Q000097:blood; D030762:Estrous Cycle / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000097:blood*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D004970:Estrone; D013739:Testosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol; D003345:Corticosterone