lntroduetion80th Wirz-Justieeet al. (1976) and Fähndrieh (1983) found that those patients showing a day-I response to sleep deprivation proved to be responders to subsequent c10mipramine treatment (Clo), while those showing a day-2 response to sleep deprivation were shown to respond to maprotiline (Map). Amin (1978), Wirz-Justieeet al., (1979), and Höehli et al. (1986) could not replicate this finding. Thus, the assumption of "distinct biochemical subtypes" of depression remained controversial. Our study is an attempt to elucidate this problem by means of a vigilance-oriented analysis of the waking EEG which takes into account the time-dependent increase of subvigilant epochs. Material and MethodsAnalyzed were the resting EEGs (leads: F3-CZ, F4-CZ, Ol-CZ, 02-eZ) of 45 endogenously-

[3H] UK-14,304 was used to investigate alpha 2-adrenoceptors in rat brain and human platelets. Receptor pharmacology revealed that the ligand binds with high affinity to alpha 2-adrenoceptors. Psychoactive substances like neuroleptics, antidepressants, and beta-carbolines displace [3H] UK-14,304 from its binding sites in the lower micromolar range. A Hill number around 2 for most neuroleptics suggests a positive cooperativity with the alpha 2-adrenoceptors. Comparative studies with [3H] UK-14,304 and [3H] clonidine utilizing platelet membranes from human volunteers demonstrated that the former ligand is more suitable to investigate possible changes of alpha 2-adrenoceptors; [3H] UK-14,304 labels more receptors with a lower standard deviation, whereby the volume of the blood sample amounted to 35 ml instead of 50 ml required for [3H] clonidine as ligand. No sex differences of binding constants were detected, however an inverse correlation of maximum number of binding sites and affinity was found for female subjects with both ligands. No age-dependent changes of Bmax and KD-values were observed in the range of 24 to 59 years.

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The investigated patients did not demonstrate a common turning point of mood in the night of sleep deprivation therapy. The antidepressant effect of SD does not occur before the end of the night of SD. No critical period for changes of mood between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. were found. Retrospective interviews of patients concerning the completed night of SD are problematic.