Brain takes an hour to recover from stress

In an experiment involving 100 adult volunteers, a cold stress test was used to elicit an acute physiological response. Although peripheral indicators such as heart rate and blood cortisol levels returned to normal relatively quickly, functional MRI and EEG data revealed that the high-level restructuring of brain processes was just beginning. Scientists have found that one hour after exposure, resilient individuals (people with optimistic attitudes and predominant positive emotions) experience a decrease in the activity of the significance-detection network, which is responsible for threat detection, and an increase in the activity of the rest-activity network, which is associated with internal reflection and self-regulation.

In contrast, individuals with low levels of psychological resilience exhibited a different pattern: the significance-detection network remained active even one hour later, accompanied by high beta-rhythm activity on the electroencephalogram. This indicates ongoing neural arousal and the brain’s inability to effectively complete the stress response cycle. The identified differences provide a potential objective biomarker for assessing the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

The discovery of this time window opens up new opportunities for targeted clinical interventions. Researchers believe that psychological support or non-invasive brain stimulation techniques applied during this specific window may be most effective. Knowing the exact time of the peak of neuroplasticity after stress allows doctors to act at the moment when the brain is most receptive to corrective influences and the formation of new adaptive connections.