Delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol and synhexl: Effects on human sleep patterns

Abstract

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the effects of orally administered 1‐trans‐Δ‐9‐ tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on both undisturbed and experimentally altered (by rapid eye movement [REM] deprivation) sleep patterns of young adult male volunteers. In the deprivation experiments, the effects of a semisynthetic Δ‐6a‐10‐THC homologue, synhexl, were also studied. In the normative studies, 4 subjects received THC in doses ranging from 61 to 258 µg per kilogram shortly before sleep onset, while in the deprivation experiments 2 subjects received either THC (244 µg per kilogram and 259 µg per kilogram) or synhexl (733 µg per kilogram and 777 µg per kilogram) the morning after the second of 2 consecutive nights of REM deprivation. In both normative and deprivation experiments, all‐night sleep recordings were taken during base‐line, drug, and postdrug conditions. The results of both types of experiments were consistent in demonstrating increments in Stage 4 sleep and decrements in REM sleep. In the normative experiments, reduction in Stage 1 and time awake after sleep onset were observed at the highest dose level. Interpretation of these results and their relation to the effects of other psychoactive compounds upon sleep patterns are discussed.