The sedating antidepressant trazodone impairs sleep-dependent cortical plasticity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent findings indicate that certain classes of hypnotics that target GABA(A) receptors impair sleep-dependent brain plasticity. However, the effects of hypnotics acting at monoamine receptors (e.g., the antidepressant trazodone) on this process are unknown. We therefore assessed the effects of commonly-prescribed medications for the treatment of insomnia (trazodone and the non-benzodiazepine GABA(A) receptor agonists zaleplon and eszopiclone) in a canonical model of sleep-dependent, in vivo synaptic plasticity in the primary visual cortex (V1) known as ocular dominance plasticity.

Methodology/principal findings

After a 6-h baseline period of sleep/wake polysomnographic recording, cats underwent 6 h of continuous waking combined with monocular deprivation (MD) to

SUBMITTER: Aton SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2699540 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature