Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31702010›Full record

ArticleSleep2020

The spectral fingerprint of sleep problems in post-traumatic stress disorder.

M de Boer, M J Nijdam, R A Jongedijk, K A Bangel, M Olff, W F Hofman, Lucia M Talamini

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sleep, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Statistical Complexity Analysis of Sleep Stages.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Autonomic regulation during sleep in PTSD.Neurobiology of stress · 2022
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Relationship between the Spectral Power Density of Sleep Electroencephalography and Psychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Breathing-related Sleep Disorder.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

M de BoerBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
M J NijdamCenter for Psychological Trauma, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
R A JongedijkARQ Centrum'45, Partner in ARQ, Oegstgeest, The Netherlands.
K A BangelCenter for Psychological Trauma, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
M OlffCenter for Psychological Trauma, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
W F HofmanBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Lucia M TalaminiBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group · NLUniversity of Amsterdam · NLAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

objectivesSleep problems are a core feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study was to find a robust objective measure for the sleep disturbance in patients having PTSD.

methodsThe current study assessed EEG power across a wide frequency range and multiple scalp locations, in matched trauma-exposed individuals with and without PTSD, during rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep. In addition, a full polysomnographical evaluation was performed, including sleep staging and assessment of respiratory function, limb movements, and heart rate. The occurrence of sleep disorders was also assessed.

resultsIn patients having PTSD, NREM sleep shows a substantial loss of slow oscillation power and increased higher frequency activity compared with controls. The change is most pronounced over right-frontal sensors and correlates with insomnia. PTSD REM sleep shows a large power shift in the opposite direction, with increased slow oscillation power over occipital areas, which is strongly related to nightmare activity and to a lesser extent with insomnia. These pronounced spectral changes occur in the context of severe subjective sleep problems, increased occurrence of various sleep disorders and modest changes in sleep macrostructure.

conclusionsThis is the first study to show pronounced changes in EEG spectral topologies during both NREM and REM sleep in PTSD. Importantly, the observed power changes reflect the hallmarks of PTSD sleep problems: insomnia and nightmares and may thus be specific for PTSD. A spectral index derived from these data distinguishes patients from controls with high effect size, bearing promise as a candidate biomarker.

Indexed as

Sleep Wake DisordersStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticElectroencephalographyHumansPolysomnographySleep, REMpolysomnographypost-traumatic stress disorderquantitative electroencephalographysleepspectral analysis

Identifiers

PMID31702010
PMCPMC7157184
OpenAlexW2986450948

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.