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Promoting Sleep Oscillations and Their Functional Coupling by Transcranial Stimulation Enhances Memory Consolidation in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Ladenbauer J, Ladenbauer J, Külzow N, de Boor R, Avramova E, Grittner U, Flöel A.. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2017-06-21
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Alzheimer's disease (AD) not only involves loss of memory functions, but also prominent deterioration of sleep physiology, which is already evident at the stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Cortical slow oscillations (SO; 0.5-1 Hz) and thalamocortical spindle activity (12-15 Hz) during sleep, and their temporal coordination, are considered critical for memory formation. We investigated the potential of slow oscillatory transcranial direct current stimulation (so-tDCS), applied during a daytime nap in a sleep-state-dependent manner, to modulate these activity patterns and sleep-related memory consolidation in nine male and seven female human patients with MCI. Stimulation significantly increased overall SO and spindle power, amplified spindle power during SO up-phases, and led to stronger synchronization between SO and spindle power fluctuations in EEG recordings. Moreover, visual declarative memory was improved by so-tDCS compared with sham stimulation and was associated with stronger synchronization. These findings indicate a well-tolerated therapeutic approach for disordered sleep physiology and memory deficits in MCI patients and advance our understanding of offline memory consolidation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In the light of increasing evidence that sleep disruption is crucially involved in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), sleep appears as a promising treatment target in this pathology, particularly to counteract memory decline. This study demonstrates the potential of a noninvasive brain stimulation method during sleep in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor of AD, and advances our understanding of its mechanism. We provide first time evidence that slow oscillatory transcranial stimulation amplifies the functional cross-frequency coupling between memory-relevant brain oscillations and improves visual memory consolidation in patients with MCI.
Key findings
- Stimulation significantly increased overall SO and spindle power, amplified spindle power during SO up-phases, and led to stronger synchronization between SO and spindle power fluctuations in EEG recordings.
- Moreover, visual declarative memory was improved by so-tDCS compared with sham stimulation and was associated with stronger synchronization.
- These findings indicate a well-tolerated therapeutic approach for disordered sleep physiology and memory deficits in MCI patients and advance our understanding of offline memory consolidation.
Why it matters
In 16 patients with mild cognitive impairment, a type of brain stimulation during a daytime nap improved sleep brain wave patterns and visual memory compared with sham stimulation. This is a small, early study of a possible therapy for sleep and memory problems in MCI, not a proven treatment or cure.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Journal of Neuroscience: journal h-index 651 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 224 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 20.4 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 56 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Agnes Flöel: h-index 78 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin: institution h-index 1,116 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 8 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28637840) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0260-17.2017
- PubMed: 28637840
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Neuroscience →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ladenbauer, J., Külzow, N., de Boor, R., Avramova, E., Grittner, U., & Flöel, A. (2017). Promoting Sleep Oscillations and Their Functional Coupling by Transcranial Stimulation Enhances Memory Consolidation in Mild Cognitive Impairment. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0260-17.2017
Vancouver
Ladenbauer J, Külzow N, de Boor R, Avramova E, Grittner U, Flöel A. Promoting Sleep Oscillations and Their Functional Coupling by Transcranial Stimulation Enhances Memory Consolidation in Mild Cognitive Impairment. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2017. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0260-17.2017. PMID: 28637840.
BibTeX
@article{ladenbauer2017-28637840,
author = {Ladenbauer, J. and Külzow, N. and de Boor, R. and Avramova, E. and Grittner, U. and Flöel, A.},
title = {{Promoting Sleep Oscillations and Their Functional Coupling by Transcranial Stimulation Enhances Memory Consolidation in Mild Cognitive Impairment}},
journal = {The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1523/jneurosci.0260-17.2017},
pmid = {28637840},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0260-17.2017}
}
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