Effect of moclobemide on the psychophysiology of sleep/wake cycles: a neuroelectrophysiological study of depressed patients administered with moclobemide.

The effects of moclobemide, 450 mg/day, on sleep were investigated in 12 patients with major depression. The study was carried out over six weeks, divided into three periods: (1) treatment for one week with placebo and measurement to obtain baseline values; (2) treatment with moclobemide for four weeks; and (3) one week withdrawal period. Polygraphic sleep recording, all-night sleep-EEG spectral analysis, and diurnal EEG vigilance mapping were used to determine the effects of this antidepressant. An activating effect was observed, most marked during the early phase of treatment. The most noticeable effects were on REM sleep, affecting polysomnographic and spectral sleep EEG parameters. A REM sleep habituation phenomenon was observed, and a slight REM sleep rebound effect occurred early during withdrawal. The observed neuroelectrophysiological changes appear to be specific for moclobemide and differ from those brought about by other antidepressants.