Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42491684›Full record

ArticleiScience2026

Random auditory stimulation during sleep disturbs traveling slow waves and declarative memory.

Nora M Roüast, Deniz Kumral, Steffen Gais, Monika Schönauer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

4 authors.

Nora M RoüastInstitute of Psychology, Neuropsychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
Deniz KumralInstitute of Psychology, Neuropsychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
Steffen GaisInstitute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Monika SchönauerInstitute of Psychology, Neuropsychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation, and various methods have attempted to enhance this process by using auditory stimulation. However, the broader impact of auditory stimulation on sleep physiology and memory retention is not fully understood. Here, we apply random or sham auditory stimulation during an afternoon nap to investigate its effects on neural activity and memory consolidation. Stimulation led to a specific reduction in slow-wave sleep, a decreased slow-wave count, and impaired declarative recall that correlated with the diminished sleep depth. Furthermore, we observed altered slow-wave traveling dynamics, with stimulation resulting in shorter traveling trajectories with less reach and reduced spatial spread, particularly impacting frontal regions. Disruptions in these features further predicted memory deficits. Our findings highlight the role of dynamic slow-wave properties in declarative memory consolidation and reveal some methodological limitations for using auditory cues during sleep, since they may disrupt complex processing patterns.

Indexed as

auditory stimulationdeclarative memorymemory consolidationsleepSWStraveling waves

Identifiers

PMID42491684
PMCPMC13378391

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.