[Structure of wakefulness of depressed patients before and after therapeutic sleep deprivation].

Responders spent more time in active wakefulness than non-responders. Responders after TSD also spent significantly less time in substage C than non-responders, even before TSD. Parallel to the decrease of substage C, substage B slightly, but not significantly increased in responders after TSD. The Hamilton-scores before TSD correlated significantly with the time spent in substage C. Our system of scoring polygraphically defined waking stages, which combine electrophysiological, behavioral and cognitive aspects of the waking states in a setting comparable a every-day condition, differentiated responders and non-responders to sleep deprivation therapy. Thus it may serve as an useful tool to further elaborate wakefulness within the sleep-wake-cycle with special reference to chronotherapeutic interventions.