Stimulant Drug Effects on Performance and Behavior After Prolonged Sleep Deprivation: A Comparison of Amphetamine,Nicotine, and Deprenyl

Normal male subjects (N = 102) underwent total sleep deprivation in a laboratory environment for 48 hr. In separate dose-response, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiments, 36 subjects received single doses of d- amphetamine, 35 received intravenous nicotine, and 31 received l-deprenyl. All were deprived of sleep for an additional 12 hr. Amphetamine reversed the effects of sleep loss in a dose-related way, but the pattern and persistence of the reversal varied across measures. Neither nicotine nor I-deprenyl produced substantial persistent reversal of sleep deprivation effects. We conclude that these latter two agents are unlikely to be useful for the acute remediation of the effects of severe sleep loss. Although amphetamine is acutely effective, its usefulness in the treatment or prophylaxis of sleep loss requires further study.