The brain signs of wear and tear: Chronic stress associated alpha oscillations in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex lead to fatigue.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational study analyzing resting-state EEG and symptom correlations across healthy and clinical cohorts.
PubMed 41412374 · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.12.020
What was done
Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded in a cohort of 589 individuals comprising healthy controls and patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders. The study evaluated the association between chronic stress, alpha oscillatory activity localized to the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), and severity of fatigue.
What was found
The authors report a negative correlation between stress-related increases in pgACC alpha oscillations and the severity of fatigue. The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, correlation coefficients, or p-values.
Why it matters
This study links chronic stress and fatigue to localized pgACC alpha oscillations across a large mixed cohort, pointing to a potential electrophysiological biomarker for stress-related exhaustion.
Limits
The study is observational and cross-sectional, which prevents establishing causality despite directional language in the title. The abstract gives no specific quantitative data, does not detail the diagnostic breakdown of clinical participants, and does not report controlling for medication use or specific disorder subtypes.
Cited by
- supports Suppression of the limbic system by the anterior cingulate cortex and frontal lobes, as well as prolonged emotional arousal via the reticular activating system, is cognitively and physiologically exhausting.