Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Association Between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Symptoms in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: April 26, 2024
Reboxetine induces similar sleep-EEG changes like SSRI's in patients with depression
1Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
Background:
Reboxetine is a novel selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. The antidepressive properties of the substance are established.
Methods:
The influence of reboxetine on the sleep-EEG of eight patients with depression HAMD (mean +/- SD) 19.7 +/- 1.5 (5 women, 3 men; age range 31 to 75 years) was investigated. Sleep EEG was examined twice. The first examination was performed before starting active medication. The second examination was subsequently performed when patients received 8 to 10 mg reboxetine per day.
Results:
Conventional sleep-EEG analysis showed a significant increase in intermittent wakefulness and sleep stage 2 and a decrease in sleep efficiency and REM time. Under reboxetine no significant changes were observed in sleep-EEG spectral analysis.
Conclusion:
Our results indicate, that reboxetine induces sleep-EEG changes similar to those after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) by increasing intermittent wakefulness and decreasing REM time.
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