Thiopental Activation and Spontaneous Sleep and Dream Patterns of Resistant Schizophrenics

Abstract

Thiopental-activated EEGs, spontaneous sleep EEGs and dream patterns were studied in forty-eight chronic schizophrenic patients who were retrospectively divided into a therapy resistant and responsive group in terms of therapeutic outcome. Using an analogue frequency analyser it was found that therapy-resistant subjects exhibited more power in the slow frequency bands and less power in the fast frequency bands than did responsive subjects during both resting recordings and thiopental post-narcotic sleep. The spontaneous all-night sleep investigations yielded similar findings. Digital computer sleep prints demonstrated that resistant schizophrenics had longer periods of deep sleep and fewer awakening states than did responsive patients, whereas responsive patients exhibited more REM activity. Evaluation of the digital computer period analysis measurements during all-night sleep revealed that 0–8 cps activity appeared to a greater extent in therapy resistant schizophrenics, while over 8 cps activity was pre-dominant in the responsive group of patients. The clinical significance of these findings was discussed, with the conclusion that quantitative electroencephalography may be a valuable instrument in predicting the therapy-responsiveness of a schizophrenic population.