Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42548908›Full record

ArticleSleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society2026

Thalamic transcranial electrical stimulation with temporal interference enhances sleep spindle activity during a daytime nap.

Simone Bruno, Beril Mat, Erin L Schaeffer, Ido Haber, Zhiwei Fan, Sean P Prahl, Mackenzie R Wilcox, Emma P Strainis, Madelynn D Loring, Tariq Alauddin and 12 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

22 authors.

Simone BrunoDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2523-1924
Beril MatDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Erin L SchaefferDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Ido HaberDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Zhiwei FanDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Sean P PrahlDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Mackenzie R WilcoxDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Emma P StrainisDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Madelynn D LoringDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Tariq AlauddinDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Richard F SmithDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Peter AchermannInstitute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Stefan BeerliFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS), Zurich, Switzerland.
Myles CapstickFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS), Zurich, Switzerland.
Esra NeufeldFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS), Zurich, Switzerland.
Niels KusterFoundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS), Zurich, Switzerland.
William MarshallDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
Larissa AlbantakisDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1000-9917
Stephanie G JonesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Chiara CirelliDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2563-677X
Melanie BolyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
Giulio TononiDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3892-4087

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Study Objectives: Sleep spindles are electroencephalographic elements characteristic of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) generated by thalamo-cortical interactions. Spindles have been linked to some of the cognitive benefits afforded by sleep and increased arousal threshold. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that targeting the thalamus with Transcranial Electrical Stimulation with Temporal Interference (TES-TI) can enhance spindle activity. Materials and Methods: 46 participants (24 ± 9.5 years; 58.7% F) underwent thalamic TES-TI stimulation during daytime naps. Three stimulation protocols with 15 kHz carrier frequency were tested during stage NREM 2: fixed difference frequency of 10 Hz (TES Results: TES Conclusions: This study provides evidence supporting the successful use of TES-TI targeting the thalamus to enhance sleep spindle activity. Stimulation at a fixed difference frequency of 10 Hz increased sigma band power and ISA, whereas neither stimulation matched to individual sigma band peak nor TES alone produced comparable effects. These promising results warrant further investigations into the cognitive and clinical impact of TES-TI.

Indexed as

basic sciencebrain stimulationelectrophysiologyhigh density EEGneurophysiologysleep spindlessleep/wake physiology

Identifiers

PMID42548908
PMCPMC13430039

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Registered trials

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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.