ArticleMemory & cognition2025
Awake targeted memory reactivation doesn't work.
Article in Memory & cognition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Wakeful targeted memory reactivation during short rest periods modulates early motor learning.NPJ science of learning · 2026Article
- Awake reactivation is not a uniform process.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2025Article
- Memory reactivation during rest forms shortcuts in a cognitive map.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Memory reactivation generates new, adaptive behaviours that reach beyond direct experience.Scientific reports · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Memories are pliable and can be biased by post-encoding information. In targeted memory reactivation (TMR) studies, participants encode information then sleep, during which time sounds or scents that were previously associated with the encoded images are re-presented in an effort to trigger reactivation of the associated memory traces. Upon subsequent testing, memory for reactivated items is often enhanced. Is sleep essential for this process? The literature on awake TMR is small and findings are mixed. Here, we asked English-speaking adults to learn Japanese vocabulary words. During a subsequent active rest phase, participants played Tetris while sound cues associated with the vocabulary words were presented. Results showed that when memories were reactivated, they were either disrupted (Experiment 1) or unaffected (Experiments 2, 3). These findings indicate that awake TMR is not beneficial, and may actually impair subsequent memory. These findings have important implications for research on memory consolidation and reactivation.
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Registered trials
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.