Psychiatric and EEG Observations on a Case of Prolonged (264 Hours) Wakefulness

Abstract

THE FIRST sleep deprivation study on man was carried out in 1896 by Patrick and Gilbert,¹who kept three young adults awake for 90 hours. Visual hallucinations occurred in one subject. In the ensuing years, a number of studies have been done and a frequent finding has been the development of some kind of psychotic symptomatology. Perceptual illusions, transient hallucinatory episodes, and depersonalization are among the most commonly observed symptoms.^2-5 With longer durations of sleep deprivation, more severe disturbances have been reported. Among 275 servicemen who had undergone 112 hours of sleep deprivation, Tyler⁶saw a few instances of behavior resembling symptoms of acute schizophrenia. Luby et al₇reported a subject who developed a florid psychotic picture during the course of 220 hours of wakefulness which was completely reversed following 14 hours of sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation ordinarily disappear when