Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42303834›Full record

Trial reportJournal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine2026

The association between slow wave activity and memory improvement following cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia in older adults: A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial​.

Maryam Ahmadi, Adam J Krause, Kathleen P O'Hora, Emilija Blozyte-Sakenis, Beatriz Hernandez, Laura C Lazzeroni, Jamie M Zeitzer, Leah Friedman, Donn Posner, Clete Kushida and 4 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02117388 (Treatments for Insomnia), which is not on this 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.

NCT02117388 nacompletednot on this map

Treatments for Insomnia: Mediators, Moderators and Quality of Life

TypeinterventionalSponsorPalo Alto Veterans Institute for ResearchRan2013 to 2019Enrolled128ConditionsInsomniaArmsSleep Restriction, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Combined Therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Reconsidering the sleep-memory link after insomnia therapy in older adults.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2026
    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

14 authors.

Maryam AhmadiDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Adam J KrauseDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Kathleen P O'HoraDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Emilija Blozyte-SakenisDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Beatriz HernandezDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Laura C LazzeroniDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Jamie M ZeitzerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Leah FriedmanDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Donn PosnerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Clete KushidaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Rachel ManberDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Jerome YesavageDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA.
Jared M SaletinDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Andrea N Goldstein-PiekarskiDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, USA. agoldpie@stanford.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-6382-4312

Funding

Treatments for Insomnia, Mediators, Moderators, and Quality of LifeR01MH101468 · NIMH · PALO ALTO VETERANS INSTIT FOR RESEARCH · PI YESAVAGE, JEROME A · 2013 to 2017
$1.8M
NIMH NIH HHS NIMHR01MH101468NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH101468
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

objectivesThis secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial explored (1) changes in memory performance and slow-wave activity (SWA) in older adults with insomnia disorder following cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and its component therapies, (2) associations between changes in SWA and changes in memory performance, and (3) whether individual CBT-I component therapies (behavioral therapy (BT) and cognitive therapy (CT)) differ in their associations with these outcomes.

methodsA secondary analysis was conducted using data from 104 older adults with insomnia disorder who underwent polysomnography and RBANS memory testing to assess immediate (list learning and story memory) and delayed memory (list recall, story recall, figure recall, and list recognition) at baseline and again at 6-months following randomization to six sessions of CBT-I, BT, or CT. Linear-mixed effects models examined changes in memory and SWA from baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Regression analyses examined relationships between changes in SWA and memory.

resultsAt 6-month follow-up, participants showed improvements in immediate memory (list learning and story memory) and delayed memory (list recall, story recall, and figure recall) compared to baseline. SWA did not change significantly following treatment. However, within-person increases in SWA were positively associated with improvements in list learning performance. Outcomes did not differ among treatments (CBT-I, BT, CT).

conclusionsAlthough a definitive randomized controlled trial is necessary to test causality, these findings add to a growing body of literature on sleep and memory and suggest a potential role for SWA in memory processes in older adults with insomnia. CLINICAL TRIAL: This study was a secondary analysis conducted using data from a clinical trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02117388 . Treatments for Insomnia: Mediators, Moderators and Quality of Life. CLINICALTRIALS: gov, NCT02117388. This secondary analysis leverages previously collected data from a clinical trial to explore changes in memory performance and SWA, and their potential associations, in older adults with insomnia disorder who received cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or its individual component therapies cognitive therapy (CT) and behavioral therapy (BT). STUDY IMPACT: Memory performance improved from baseline to 6-month follow-up and within-person increases in SWA were positively associated with memory performance. While this secondary analysis cannot establish causality, these findings add to a growing body of literature on sleep and memory and suggest a potential role for SWA in memory processes in older adults with insomnia. These associations provide support for further investigation in confirmatory trials designed to test causal mechanisms.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyMemorySleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPolysomnographyTreatment OutcomeCognitive behavioral therapy for insomniaInsomniaMemory performanceOlder adultsSlow wave activity

Identifiers

PMID42303834
PMCPMC13272709

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.