Effects of hypnotics on prefrontal cortex activity during a verbal fluency task in healthy male subjects: A near‐infrared spectroscopy study

Abstract

Objective To assess the effects of hypnotics on prefrontal cortex activity in healthy subjects using near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled crossover trial. Methods Eighteen healthy males received acute doses of ramelteon (8 mg), triazolam (0.125 mg), or placebo in a predetermined randomization schedule, with a washout period of more than 1 week. All subjects performed a verbal fluency task during NIRS assessments at baseline and at 1 and 4 hr post‐dose. The number of words correctly generated during the task (behavioral performance) and scores on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) were also recorded at each test time. Results Compared with the placebo, triazolam (0.125 mg) significantly decreased oxyhemoglobin (oxy‐Hb) concentration change in NIRS during the posttask period and significantly increased behavioral performance, whereas triazolam (0.125 mg) and ramelteon (8 mg) significantly increased SSS scores. Conclusions The differential effects of two types of hypnotics on oxy‐Hb change measured by NIRS were observed in acute dosing, suggesting that when assessing brain activity of patients with psychiatric disorders, researchers should consider how certain types of hypnotics can influence brain function. This would also provide useful information to clinicians when prescribing hypnotics suitable for their patients' conditions.

Assessing the Real-World, Long-Term Impact of Lemborexant on Sleep Quality in a Home-Based Clinical Study

“…14,15 Older adults may be more vulnerable than younger adults to the adverse events associated with commonly prescribed sedative-hypnotics, 16 such as residual morning somnolence, daytime cognitive and psychomotor impairment, falls, and fractures. 17,18 In a recently published meta-analysis, the orexin receptor antagonist, lemborexant, showed good efficacy, tolerability, and safety among all hypnotics for adults diagnosed with insomnia disorder. 19 Previous research has compared the efficacy of lemborexant with placebo and zolpidem in improving sleep quality, using both objective (polysomnography: PSG) and subjective measures.…”