Riluzole, a glutamate antagonist, enhances slow wave and REM sleep in rats

Riluzole is a drug that interferes with glutamate neurotransmitters. We studied the sleep pattern of rats treated orally with riluzole at doses ranging from 0.5 to 8 mg/kg. Duration of slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep was found to increase in a dose-dependent manner from 1 mg/kg, at the expense of awakeness. These data suggest that glutamate neurotransmission may be involved in the regulation of sleep. Riluzole can be of interest as sleep modulator, in particular in psychiatric disorders.