Differential behavioural effects of two instrumental paradoxical sleep deprivation techniques in rats

Behavioural consequences of deprivation of paradoxical sleep were studied by placing rats in a light-dark preference box following 0, 24, 48, and 72 h of treatment and after 96 h, following a 24 h recovery period. Paradoxical sleep deprivation was induced either by the platform or pendulum technique, and three control groups were tested on the same regime. The number of crossings between parts of the box was taken as an estimation of locomotor activity, while time spent in the various compartments of the preference box was also measured. Surprisingly, behavioural consequences were found to be dependent on the technique employed. An increase of ambulation and decrease of dark preference were obtained when paradoxical sleep was deprived by the platform technique, but no changes were noticed following exposure to the pendulum procedure. It is suggested that non-specific effects rather than PS deprivation per se are responsible for the behavioural changes found after platform deprivation.