Increased slow wave sleep with 5-HT2 receptor antagonists: detection by ambulatory EEG recording and automatic sleep stage analysis.

The effect on slow wave sleep (SWS) of 5-HT antagonists with different affinities for 5-HT(1) and 5-HT(2) receptors was investigated using ambulatory EEG monitoring in normal volunteers. The selective 5-HT( 2) antagonists, ritanserin and cypropheptadine, increased SWS while the non-selective 5-HT antagonist metergoline did not. The histamine H( 1)-receptor antagonist, mepyramine, was similarly without effect on SWS. These findings suggest that home ambulatory monitoring with automatic sleep stage analysis may be useful in detecting the effect of selective 5-HT( 2) receptor antagonists on SWS.