Sleep variables, cyclic AMP and biogenic amine metabolites after one day of ethanol ingestion.

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Abstract
Sleep staging and CSF levels of neurotransmitter metabolies and cyclic AMP (cAMP) were measured in 9 male alcoholics (mean age 50) before and after drinking 3 g of alcohol per kg of body weight over 8 h. Subjects were abstinent for 30 days before the test. Delta sleep time and percentage doubled and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep time and percentage decreased by half. There was also evidence of REM fragmentation. Changes in the CSF levels of the dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid, were inconsistent after alcohol, but the serotonin product, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), decreased significantly, as did CAMP (both, P < 0.01). The cAMP changes correlated inversely with delta sleep and positively with REM sleep. The change in 5-HIAA did not correlate with sleep staging, but was inversely correlated with blood alcohol concentration.