Time of night and first night effects on arousal response in healthy adults.

Objective: Several factors, such as homeostatic and circadian influences, may affect the density of cortical and subcortical arousals (AR). The purpose of this study was to examine the time-of-night and the first night effect on AR response.

Methods: AR were classified into microarousals (MA), phases of transitory activation (PAT), delta (D-burst) and K-complex burst (K-burst).

Effects of sleep loss on team decision making: motivational loss or motivational gain?

Objective: To examine the effects of 30 hr of sleep loss and continuous cognitive work on performance in a distributed team decision-making environment.

Background: To date, only a few studies have examined the effect of sleep loss on distributed team performance, and only one other to our knowledge has examined the relationship between sleep loss and social-motivational aspects of teams (Hoeksema-van Orden, Gaillard, & Buunk, 1998).

Method: Sixteen teams participated; each comprised 4 members.

Effects of sleep deprivation on spontaneous arousals in humans.

Study Objectives: The hierarchical definition of arousals from sleep includes a range of physiologic responses including microarousals, delta and K-complex bursts, and variations in autonomic system. Whether patterns in slow-wave electroencephalographic activity and autonomic activation are primary forms of arousal response can be addressed by studying effects of total sleep deprivation. We therefore examined changes in arousal density during recovery sleep in healthy subjects.

Heart rate activation during spontaneous arousals from sleep: effect of sleep deprivation.

Objective: Arousal (AR) from sleep is associated with an autonomic reflex activation raising blood pressure and heart rate (HR). Recent studies indicate that sleep deprivation may affect the autonomic system, contributing to high vascular risk. Since in sleep disorders a sleep fragmentation and a partial sleep deprivation occurs, it could be suggested that the cardiovascular effects observed at AR from sleep might be physiologically affected when associated with sleep deprivation.

Effects of modafinil on cognitive and meta-cognitive performance.

The stimulant modafinil has proved to be an effective treatment modality for narcolepsy and related sleep disorders and is also being studied for use during sustained military operations to ameliorate the effects of fatigue due to sleep loss. However, a previous study reported that a relatively large, single dose of modafinil (300 mg), administered to already sleep-deprived individuals, caused participants to overestimate their cognitive abilities (i.e.

Sleep-inducing pharmaceuticals: a comparison of melatonin, zaleplon, zopiclone, and temazepam.

Introduction: Current military operations often require pharmaceutical methods to sustain alertness and facilitate sleep in order to maintain operational readiness. This study was designed to compare the sleep-inducing power of four medications.

Method: There were 9 men and 14 women, ages 21-53 yr, who were assessed for psychomotor performance before and for 7 h after ingestion of a single dose of placebo, zaleplon 10 mg, zopiclone 7.

Melatonin and zopiclone as facilitators of early circadian sleep in operational air transport crews.

Introduction: This study was an extension into an operational setting of previous laboratory work investigating the use of zopiclone and melatonin to facilitate early circadian sleep in transport aircrew. The previous laboratory-based study demonstrated that both melatonin and zopiclone were effective in inducing early circadian sleep without impacting on psychomotor performance after a 7-h sleep period.

Methods: In a repeated measures, placebo-controlled protocol, 30 aircrew flew 3 transatlantic missions over which they took each of the 3 medications (placebo, sustained-release melatonin 2 mg, or zopiclone 5 mg) at an early body clock time (17:00) during their first stopover.

Impact of melatonin, zaleplon, zopiclone, and temazepam on psychomotor performance.

Introduction: Modern military operations may require pharmaceutical methods to sustain alertness and facilitate sleep in order to maintain operational readiness. In operations with very limited sleep windows, hypnotics with very short half-lives (e.g.

Distinctive effects of modafinil and d-amphetamine on the homeostatic and circadian modulation of the human waking EEG.

Rationale: Modafinil is a wake-promoting agent that affects hypothalamic structures involved in the homeostatic and circadian regulation of vigilance. Administered during sleep deprivation, it reduces the need for prolonged recovery sleep and decreases the rebound in EEG slow-wave activity. These diachronic effects suggest an action of modafinil on a homeostatic sleep regulatory process.