Acute heroin abstinence in man. III. Effect upon waking and slow wave sleep.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of acute heroin withdrawal on waking behavior and slow wave sleep. Data were collected from drug-dependent patients who were using pure heroin and from drug-free controls. All data were recorded on a 24-hour per day basis for 5 - 7 consecutive days. EEG records were manually scored according to standard criteria. The heroin-dependent patients during withdrawal showed approximately a 26% decrease in slow wave sleep and an 18% increase in waking behavior. The awake state in the heroin-dependent patients during withdrawal also displayed an increase in number of episodes and number of state shifts, and a decrease in duration and sleep onset latency. In addition, the slow wave sleep categories during withdrawal generally showed an increase in sleep onset latency and interstate interval and a decrease in number of episodes. These results indicate that heroin withdrawal is associated with a marked disruption of the central nervous system mechanisms responsible for maintenance of the normal sleep--waking cycle. Analyses of the pattern of this disruption will further aid in understanding the withdrawal syndrome.