URINARY EXCRETION OF EPINEPHRINE NOREPINEPHRINE DOPAMINE AND TRYPTAMINE DURING SLEEP AND WAKEFULNESS - EFFECTS OF PENTOBARBITAL PENTOBARBITAL PLUS DEXTROAMPHETAMINE SULFATE AND PLACEBO

Twenty normal male Ss spent 6 h a night in the laboratory on 4 nights a week apart. In a balanced design, on two nights they received, p.o. and double blind, a dextroamphetamine sulfate spansule 15 mg and sodium pentobarbital 100 mg and on two others pentobarbital plus placebo. Fifteen of the Ss spent an additional two nights on which they received placebos. Continuous EEG and EOG recordings were taken on all nights. Overnight (6 h) and postsleep (1 h) urine collections taken from 17 Ss on drug nights and 13 Ss on placebo nights were analyzed for epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and tryptamine. Results with placebo suggested that wakefulness produces the greatest amine and urine outputs, nonactivated sleep the least and activated sleep intermediate amounts. Epinephrine excretion was greater in the AM than overnight. The results were thought consistent with a hierarchical ordering of physiological activity where wakefulness > activated sleep > nonactivated sleep. After corrections were made for their effects on wakefulness, neither dextro-amphetamine sulfate nor pentobarbital appeared to have any effect on amine excretions during sleep. Significant correlations were found between amine excretions and urine volume both during sleep and wakefulness. © 1969 Springer-Verlag.