Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42236577›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2026

REM sleep favors the restructuring of problem-related semantic associations.

Théophile Bieth, Nicolas Decat, Yoed N Kenett, Marie Scuccimarra, Marcela Ovando-Tellez, Alizée Lopez-Persem, Célia Lacaux, Saoussen Ben Younes, Arthur Le Coz, Sarah Moreno-Rodriguez and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

13 authors.

Théophile BiethSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. theo_bieth@hotmail.fr.ORCID 0000-0003-2814-4500
Nicolas Decat *AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Service des Pathologies du Sommeil, National Reference Center for Narcolepsy, Paris, France.
Yoed N Kenett *Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-3872-7689
Marie ScuccimarraSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
Marcela Ovando-TellezSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-9521-4620
Alizée Lopez-PersemSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-7566-5715
Célia LacauxSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
Saoussen Ben YounesSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
Arthur Le CozSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
Sarah Moreno-RodriguezSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0003-0606-901X
Isabelle ArnulfSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
Emmanuelle VolleSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. emmavolle@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0001-8420-4155
Delphine OudietteSorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute -ICM-, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. delphine.oudiette@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-6598-4130

Funding

Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Agency) ANR-19-CE37-001-01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

REM sleep is considered a 'hyperassociative' state enhancing the connections between weakly related concepts, thereby facilitating memory restructuring - a critical process proposed in creative problem-solving. We empirically explore this hypothesis by testing participants on a riddle before and after a 90-minute incubation period including rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, only non-REM sleep, or wakefulness. We quantified memory restructuring by computing differences in problem-related semantic memory network (SemNets) properties between pre- and post-incubation. For each sleep stage, we extracted fine-grained electroencephalogram (EEG) measures linked to cognitive richness. REM sleep, compared to wake, reshaped the dominant problem representation by combining semantically remote concepts in memory and reducing strong but solution-irrelevant associations of ideas. Such REM sleep-related restructuring was associated with EEG measures indexing a richer cognitive state. While REM drove memory restructuring, it alone did not boost problem-solving success, suggesting that more extensive restructuring or additional processes are necessary for creative breakthroughs.

Indexed as

MemoryProblem SolvingSemanticsSleep, REMCognitionElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansMaleWakefulnessYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID42236577
PMCPMC13542217

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.