Naz Perween Alam and Kedar Prasad Sinha

Ethanol and nicotine are the two most widely used and abused substances in the world and often are co-consumed. This study examined the effect of ethanol and nicotine co-consumption on rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and the role of noradrenergic system, a critical component of REM sleep control, in mediating this effect. The sleep-wake parameters were recorded for 6 hours during day-time after intraperitoneal injections of ethanol (2g/kg and 3g/kg), nicotine (0.3 and 3mg/kg), a mixture of ethanol (3gm/Kg)-nicotine (3mg/kg), and prazosin, an alpha-1 receptor antagonist (0.01 mg/kg) followed by ethanol-nicotine. The findings suggest that: a) ethanol increased NREM sleep, but suppressed REM sleep; b) nicotine suppressed both NREM and REM sleep; c) ethanol-nicotine attenuated each other’s effect on NREM sleep, but REM sleep remained depressed; and d) prazosin attenuated REM sleep suppression observed after ethanol-nicotine treatment. These findings are consistent with known interactions between ethanol and nicotine in influencing REM sleep and a role of the noradrenergic system in mediating this effect.

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