Effects of clomipramine infusion on sleep in depressed patients.

Sleep structure of 10 endogenous depressed patients was investigated before and after clomipramine treatment. Clomipramine significantly reduced REM time, increased REM latency and induced dissociation between the tonic and phasic events of REM sleep, without affecting any of the other sleep parameters. The REM suppressing effect was most prominent on the third night after beginning treatment.