The effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor on electromyography of rapid eye movement sleep in depressive patient

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)on the muscle tone during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in depressive patients. Methods Twenty-one depressive patients in SSRIs treatment were recruited from the polysomnography database. And 21 depressive patients without any pharmacological treatment and 21 normal controls were recruited at the same time. According to Lapierre & Montplaisir criteria, the tonic and phasic electromyography (EMG) in REM sleep was reevaluated. Results Compared to no treatment group and normal control group, SSRIs group experienced more tonic EMG [ ( 10.1 ± 9.4) % vs. (3.3 ± 3.7) % & (2.8 ± 3.4) %, P ＜ 0.001 ] and phasic EMG [submental: (11.5 ± 6.8)% vs. (6.3 ± 4.1)% & (5.0 ± 3.7)%, P＜0.05, anterior tibialis: (18.8 ± 13.2)% vs. (10.3 ± 7.2)% & (9.8 ± 5.5)%, P＜0.05] in REM sleep. In SSRIs group, both tonic and phasic EMG in REM sleep correlated with REM latency positively (γ=4.475, γ=0.397 ,γ=0.402) and correlated with percentage of REM sleep negatively (γ= -0.353,γ=-0. 511 ,γ= -0.463 ). Conclusion SSRIs could increase EMG activity in REM sleep, mainly according to the mechanism of increasing serotonin. Key words: Serotonin uptake inhibitors; Depressive disorder; Sleep, REM; Electromyography