Drugs for Sleep

Question 1

Sleep Stage 1 (Theta Activity)

Answer 1

• Mental drifting
• Thoughts turn inward
• Reduced attention to external stimuli (eyes closed, less attending to sounds)
• Light sleep, can easily return to full wakefulness with a small disturbance

Question 2

Sleep Stage 2 (Sleep Spindle & K-complex)

Answer 2

Unconscious to surroundings

Sleep spindles appear in EEG

Some muscle twitching

Question 3

Sleep Stage 3 (Delta Activity)

Answer 3

Transition to deep sleep

The person is difficult to wake

Heartbeat and breathing begin to slow

Body temperature drops

EEG begins to show synchronous waves of activity, including slow delta waves.

Question 4

Sleep Stage 4 (Delta Activity)

Answer 4

Deep Sleep

Difficult to wake

EEG shows delta waves

Slow Wave Sleep

Dreams occur during deep sleep but are more difficult for the person to recall.

Question 5

Sleep Stage 5 (Beta activity)

Answer 5

REM Sleep

They will transition from deep sleep into REM sleep (after 90 minutes)

A return to near consciousness and person can be more easily roused during this stage

EEG pattern, breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature are more similar to awake state.

Dreams occur during REM sleep.

Question 6

What are the neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness?

Answer 6

Serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, histamine, and orexin.

Question 7

Hypnotics

Answer 7

Drugs that promote and induce sleep

It reduces the activity of those parts of the brain that are involved in consciousness and alertness

Question 8

Which part of the brain is important for consciousness?

Answer 8

1) Cerebral Cortex
2) Thalamus
3) Reticular Formation

Question 9

GABA

Answer 9

Body’s main mechanism to quiet neurons (inhibitory neurotransmitters)

GABA makes neurons less likely to fire because GABA opens the chloride channel

Question 10

GABA Receptors

Answer 10

Allows chloride ions (negative ions) to flow in the neuron = hyperpolarization

Question 11

Hyperpolarized Neuron

Answer 11

A neuron that is less likely to fire.

Question 12

Barbiturates

Answer 12

Drugs: phenobarbital and pentobarbital

Agonist for the GABA receptor.

It causes the GABA receptor to stay open for a longer period of time.

Question 13

Why are Barbiturates unsafe?

Answer 13

Overdose

Breathing and Heart rate slow down or stop

Question 14

Type of Benzodiazepines drugs

Answer 14

Drugs: diazepam (aka Valium), clonazepam, lorazepam, zopiclone, and zolpidem (Ambien)

Question 15

Benzodiazepines

Answer 15

Increases the likelihood that the GABA receptor will open

Only allows a few ions to enter into the neuron

Benzodiazepine is safer because hyperpolarization is less extreme.

Question 16

Short-term effects of Benzodiazepines

Answer 16

motor impairment

cognitive impairment

amnesia (loss of memory)

Question 17

Long-term effects of Benzodiazepines

Answer 17

Tolerance: Body is desensitized to the drug. More drug is required to have the effect.

Dependence: body needs the drug to function.

Addiction: the compulsion to take the drug, despite adverse consequences

Question 18

Stimulant

Answer 18

a drug that promotes wakefulness

Question 19

What is the target (receptor) for Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates?

Answer 19

GABA-A receptor

Question 20

Are Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates agonist or antagonist of the GABA receptor?

Answer 20

Agonist

They make the channel more likely to open, or make the channel stay open longer.

Question 21

Which class of drugs is considered safer, and why?

Answer 21

Benzodiazepines

1) less likely to cause a lethal overdose because they don’t keep the channel open for longer
2) there is a limit to amount of chloride ions that can come in

Question 22

When Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates bind to the receptor, does it cause the neuron to fire more or less?

Answer 22

Less likely to fire

The therapeutic effects (promoting sleep) are due to the quieting effects of these drugs on neurons in the reticular activating system, the thalamus, and the cortex.

The anxiolytic effects are due to quieting neurons in the amygdala.

Question 23

What are the unwanted side effects of benzodiazepines?

Answer 23

Amnesia (memory loss)

Cognitive Impairment

Motor Impairment

Sleepiness

Stomach upset