Two Anti-anxiety Drugs: A Psychoneuroendocrine Study

Eight males were studied during 27 weeks, including two periods of five weeks during which they received clinical doses of sodium amylobarbitone and benzoctamine. Substitution of placebo for either drug caused raised anxiety and impairment of mental concentration. The drugs reduced restlessness during sleep and reduced paradoxical sleep. By the fifth week of sodium amylobarbitone, although sleep was still less restless in the early night it was more restless than normal in the late night. Blood samples were taken half-hourly during sleep by indwelling venous catheter. Plasma growth hormone concentration was little affected during drug administration but rose temporarily after withdrawal. There was a reduction of plasma corticosteroid concentration during sleep throughout administration of the drugs and a rebound above normal during the first withdrawal week.