REM sleep disorders in rats with experimental depressive syndrome caused by systemic administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)

Rats receiving daily injections of the neurotoxin MPTP in a dose of 20 mg/kg for 12 days develop disorders of REM sleep, including increased frequency of REM-sleep episodes, decreased REM latency, and increased REM sleep duration, both absolute and relative. The first two of these REM sleep disorders are characteristic of endogenous depression. The results indicate that systemically administered MPTP causes a state similar to endogenous depression. Translated fromByulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 123, No. 2, pp. 138–142, February, 1997