[The effect of chloramphenicol on sleep in cat -- comparison with thiamphenicol, erythromycine, and oxytetracycline (author's transl)].

The effects of various antibiotics, which inhibit protein synthesis, has been studied on the sleep-waking cycle of cats. Chloramphenicol (CAP) selectively inhibits paradoxical sleep (SP). Thiamphenicol (TAP) and oxytetracycline however are ineffective; erythromycine induces only a small decrease of SP. When CAP is injected after TAP, the SP inhibition is longer than after CAP alone. Combining erythromycine and CAP produces the same effect as one or other of the antibiotic alone, depending only on the interval between administration of the two drugs. Slow wave sleep is decreased only with high doses of CAP and is unaffected by TAP, oxytetracycline or erythromycine. These results suggest that CAP may inhibit a peptide or protein synthesis involved in the mechanisms of SP.