Trait Resilience Modulates the Association Between Cortisol and Aperiodic Neural Dynamics

Authors

Lee, K. F. A., Asharaf, S. T., Liang, L., Lee, T. M. C.

Abstract

Cortisol, our stress hormone, exerts widespread influence on neural activity. However, its influence on the aperiodic component of the electroencephalography power spectrum remains to be investigated. Given individual differences in the capacity to cope with stress and adversity, it also remains unclear whether trait resilience moderates this relationship. Hence, the present study examined whether individual differences in trait resilience moderates the association between resting cortisol and aperiodic activity. Participants (N=145) completed various self-report questionnaires (e.g., trait resilience). Electroencephalography was recorded over a 20-minute baseline period, followed by salivary cortisol collection. The results revealed a significant moderating effect of trait resilience in the occipital scalp region. Specifically, higher cortisol concentration was associated with flatter 1/f slopes amongst individuals with low trait resilience, whereas this association was reversed amongst those with high trait resilience. Overall, our findings highlight the role of individual differences in trait resilience in shaping hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis-related neural dynamics.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 16 Jul 2026.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this preprint? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.