Sleep deprivation in depression.

Sleep deprivation (SD) is a powerful antidepressant treatment that shows antidepressant responses within hours in 40-60% of depressed patients. In more than 80% of responders to SD, a relapse into depression occurred after the recovery night. In addition, it serves as an excellent tool to examine the neurobiological disturbance of depression and may profoundly contribute to the development of new specific and more rapidly acting antidepressants.

Pain sensitivity in major depression and its relationship to central serotoninergic function as reflected by the neuroendocrine response to clomipramine.

Several studies reported a decreased pain sensitivity in patients with depression, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this phenomenon are unclear. While there is extensive evidence that the serotoninergic system plays a key role in pain modulation, especially in pain inhibitory mechanisms via descending pathways, as well as in the pathophysiology of depression, no study so far has examined its potential relevance in mediating the alteration of pain processing. The present study addresses the question of whether indices of serotoninergic dysfunction, as investigated by a neuroendrocine challenge paradigm, are related to pain sensitivity.

Mid-term effects of serial sleep deprivation therapy implemented in cognitive-behavioral treatment on the neuroendocrine response to clomipramine in patients with major depression.

While data dealing with neurobiological effects of sleep deprivation (SD) are mainly restricted to the acute effects of a single night, only few studies have investigated mid-term effects after repeated SD. We therefore examined the clinical and hormonal characteristics of depressive patients before and after serial SD to determine potential sustained effects, focusing especially on serotoninergic functions. One tool to investigate serotoninergic dysfunction in depression is the use of serotoninergic agents to stimulate hormonal secretion, which is assumed to normalize during a clinically effective therapy.

Effects of total sleep deprivation in major depression: overnight improvement of mood is accompanied by increased pain sensitivity and augmented pain complaints.

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with more pain complaints and an altered pain perception. Studies regarding the longitudinal relationship between depressive symptoms and pain processing have rarely been performed and have produced inconsistent results. To clarify how short-term alleviation of depressive mood is linked to changes in pain processing, the effect of sleep deprivation (SD) on pain and somatosensory thresholds, pain complaints, and mood was investigated in MDD patients.