Increase in Beta Power Reflects Attentional Top-Down Modulation After Psychosocial Stress Induction

Abstract

Selective attention depends on goal-directed and stimulus-driven modulatory factors, each relayed by different brain rhythms. Under certain circumstances, stress-related states can change the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-driven factors. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying these changes remain unclear. In this study, we explored how psychosocial stress can modulate brain rhythms during an attentional task and a task-free period. We recorded the EEG and ECG activity of 42 healthy participants subjected to either the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a controlled procedure to induce stress, or a comparable control protocol (same physical and cognitive effort but without the stress component), flanked by an attentional task, a 90 s of task-free period and a state of anxiety questionnaire. We observed that psychosocial stress induced an increase in heart rate (HR), self-reported anxiety, and alpha power synchronization. Also, psychosocial stress evoked a relative beta power increase during correct trials of the attentional task, which correlates positively with anxiety and heart rate increase, and inversely with attentional accuracy. These results suggest that psychosocial stress affects performance by redirecting attentional resources toward internal threat-related thoughts. An increment of endogenous top-down modulation reflected an increased beta-band activity that may serve as a compensatory mechanism to redirect attentional resources toward the ongoing task. The data obtained here may contribute to designing new ways of clinical management of the human stress response in the future and could help to minimize the damaging effects of persistent stressful experiences.

EEG band power analysis corresponding to salivary amylase activity during stressful computer gameplay

“…Previous studies reported that cortisol secretion is related to EEG wakefulness alertness in humans [37]. Another study reported that the increase of beta band power might reflect top-down attentional modulation after a stress-induced environment [38]. Therefore, we believed that the increased mental stress possibility enhances brain alertness as a consequence.…”

Development of an EEG Headband for Stress Measurement on Driving Simulators

“…The EEG beta power is known to be highly correlated with the cortisol hormone level in the body, which increases in response to stress [57]. Moreover, beta power is known to be an indicator of attention, concentration, and anxiety [42,58]. Numerous studies selected the power increase of the beta waves to identify stress [59][60][61][62] and the power decrease of the beta waves to identify mental fatigue and drowsiness [63][64][65].…”

“…Some studies used the help of other bio-sensors to categorize and label the acquired EEG signals [33,34] (again, we point out the importance of a precise time alignment between different sensors); some other studies relied on the drivers' selfreport [35]; other studies classified the mental activity using an arbitrary threshold on the EEG signal level and labeling the categories on the basis of threshold trespassing [36]. In this study, we adopted the analysis of the beta activities to identify the stress in drivers from the acquired EEG signals, and this method is well known in the literature [39][40][41][42]. Few studies have designed and developed EEG sensors with various architectures.…”

Predictions of tDCS treatment response in PTSD patients using EEG based classification

“…These two frequency bands, theta and beta, have been reported as the key observable indices for clinical effects of tDCS treatment related to major symptoms of PTSD, such as stress, depressive and anxiety. According to Palacios-García's study, the increase in psychosocial stress and stress-related anxiety was related to specific changes in beta-band ( 38 ). Dunkley also reported theta band plays a critical role in attentional, depressive and anxiety-related sequelae observed in PTSD populations ( 39 ).…”