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Updated: Nov 18, 2025

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Delta-beta cross-frequency coupling as an index of stress regulation during social-evaluative threat
Eefje S Poppelaars1, Johannes Klackl1, Belinda Pletzer2
1University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Division of Social Psychology, Hellbrunnerstraße 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria.
Abstract:
Coupling between delta (1-4 Hz) and beta (14-30 Hz) oscillations is posited to reflect subcortico-cortical communication and stress regulation. To validate delta-beta coupling (DBC) as an index of neural stress regulation, we investigated whether DBC changes during stress and whether these changes are associated with established stress responses. We induced stress using a social-evaluative threat (impromptu speech) task and measured frontal and parietal delta-beta amplitude-amplitude correlation (AAC) and phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), as well as cardiovascular, affective, and endocrine stress responses. Results showed no significant changes in either AAC or PAC in response to stress and no correlations with stress responses. However, baseline AAC tended to be related to more adaptive endocrine stress responses. Our results suggest that delta-beta AAC or PAC are not valid neural indices of stress regulation itself, but rather traits that relate to differences in neuroendocrine stress responses.
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