Parachlorophenylalanine does not affect pontine-geniculate-occipital waves in rats despite significant effects on other sleep-waking parameters.

The effects of 376 mg/kg parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA) methyl ester on spontaneous and elicited pontine-geniculate-occipital (PGO) waves, locomotor activity, and sleep-staging were studied in albino rats. It was found that PCPA had no effect on the frequency per minute of spontaneously occurring PGO waves or on the relationship between elicited PGO waves and the sleep-waking cycle, which has been reported in normal rats. In contrast, significant decreases in sleep, increases in spontaneous locomotor activity, and alterations in other spontaneously emitted behaviors were observed. It was concluded that PCPA does not affect PGO waves in rats in contrast to the dramatic effects of this drug on PGO waves in cats.