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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Association Between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Symptoms in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: April 26, 2024
Antidepressant response to partial sleep deprivation in unipolar depression is not related to state anxiety
Camellia P Clark1, Shahrokh Golshan
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego/V.A. Medical Center, San Diego, California 92161, USA. cclark@vapop.ucsd.edu
Abstract:
One night of total or partial sleep deprivation (SD) produces a temporary remission in up to 60% of patients with major depression, yet mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated whether the antidepressant effects of SD are caused, even partially, by an improvement in anxiety. As part of a functional magnetic resonance imaging study, 19 unmedicated major depression patients and eight controls completed the Spielberger State/Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (state version) at baseline and sleep-deprived scanning sessions. We found (1) greater anxiety in patients than controls; (2) no baseline or SD STAI difference between responders and nonresponders; (3) no STAI change with SD in any subject group; and (4) no significant correlation between any STAI and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale measures. Our findings did not provide support for an anxiolytic process associated with the antidepressant effects of SD.
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