Abstract
Plasma thyrotropin (TSH) levels have been previously shown to be associated with the internal sleep structure determined by conventional scoring of sleep stages. This temporal relationship was re-evaluated using spectral analysis of the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG). Eight healthy male subjects underwent two randomized night studies after having received either placebo or 5 mg ritanserin, a selective 5-HT 2 receptor antagonist known to increase slow-wave sleep. Delta relative power and TSH levels, determined at 10 min intervals, were found to be inversely related with an average cross-correlation coefficient highly significant ( P < 0.0001) in both experimental conditions. Alpha slow-wave index, an estimator of awakenings, and TSH pulses exhibited a significant temporal association in both conditions. These results demonstrate that TSH fluctuations are linked to the sleep EEG activity in man.
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