Wriessnegger Selina C, Lorenzer Lena, Kostoglou Kyriaki
Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria.
Division of Cardiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Front Neurosci. 2025 Aug 13;19:1633295. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1633295. eCollection 2025.
Mental stress affects nearly everyone, with individual responses varying greatly. The importance of studying mental stress has increased, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress has wide-ranging health impacts, from elevating blood pressure to contributing to depression and neurodegenerative conditions.
This work aimed to uncover reliable correlates of mental stress using Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Electrocardiogram (ECG) methods, with an additional focus on sex differences. Twenty-five volunteers performed time-constrained mental arithmetic tasks under stress, amplified by workspace noise and negative feedback.
Response-locked heart rate (HR) data revealed a parasympathetic deceleration at response onset, followed by sympathetic rebound, with deeper HR dips linked to higher stress levels. Men showed earlier, longer-lasting HR decelerations, suggesting a time-based regulation strategy, while women exhibited larger, short-lived HR swings during slower responses, indicating an intensity-based response. Neural responses revealed also sex-specific stress effects: in females, stress modulated frontal theta, beta, and the theta/beta ratio-markers of cognitive control. In males, stress increased gamma and decreased delta power, indicating possibly heightened arousal and reduced motor preparation, respectively. While alpha asymmetry was modulated in both sexes, its behavioral relevance and spatial patterns differed.
These findings highlight the need for sex-specific models in neuroadaptive systems and stress-monitoring technologies.
心理压力几乎影响每个人，个体反应差异很大。研究心理压力的重要性日益增加，尤其是在新冠疫情期间。压力对健康有广泛影响，从升高血压到导致抑郁和神经退行性疾病。
这项工作旨在使用脑电图（EEG）和心电图（ECG）方法揭示心理压力的可靠相关因素，并特别关注性别差异。25名志愿者在压力下执行时间受限的心算任务，工作空间噪音和负面反馈加剧了压力。
反应锁定心率（HR）数据显示，反应开始时副交感神经减速，随后是交感神经反弹，心率下降越深与压力水平越高相关。男性的心率减速更早、持续时间更长，表明是基于时间的调节策略，而女性在反应较慢时心率波动更大、持续时间短，表明是基于强度的反应。神经反应也显示出性别特异性的压力效应：在女性中，压力调节额叶θ波、β波以及认知控制的θ/β比率标记。在男性中，压力增加γ波功率并降低δ波功率，分别表明可能唤醒增强和运动准备减少。虽然两性的α波不对称性都受到调节，但其行为相关性和空间模式有所不同。
这些发现凸显了神经自适应系统和压力监测技术中针对性别模型的必要性。
