Resting state EEG delta-beta amplitude-amplitude coupling: a neural predictor of cortisol response under stress

Stress is ubiquitous in daily life. Subcortical and cortical regions closely interact to respond to stress. Delta-beta cross-frequency coupling (CFC), believed to signify communication between different brain areas, can serve as a neural signature underlying the heterogeneity in stress responses. Nevertheless, the role of cross-frequency coupling in stress prediction has not received sufficient attention. To examine the predictive role of resting state delta-beta CFC across the whole scalp, we obtained amplitude-amplitude coupling (AAC) and phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) from 4-minute resting state EEG of seventy-three healthy participants. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was administered on a separate day to induce stress. Salivary cortisol and heart rate were recorded to measure stress responses. Utilizing cluster-based permutation analysis, the results showed that delta-beta AAC was positively correlated with cortisol increase magnitude (cluster t = 26.012, p = .020) and cortisol AUCi (cluster t = 23.039, p = .022) over parietal-occipital areas, which means that individuals with a stronger within-subject AAC demonstrated a greater cortisol response. These results suggest that AAC could be a valuable biomarker for predicting neuroendocrine activity under stress. However, no association between PAC and stress responses was found. Additionally, we did not detect the predictive effect of power in the delta or beta frequency bands on stress responses, suggesting that delta-beta AAC provides unique insights beyond single-band power. These findings enhance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanism underpinning individual differences in stress responses and offer promising biomarkers for stress assessment and the detection of stress-related disorders.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-024-10174-1.