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Cognitive Stress and Environmental Recovery: Evidence from EEG and Physiological Measurements

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Elena Cravero^1,2 (), Chiara Noferini^3,4, Rachele Fabbri³, Francesco Goretti⁴, Saqib Hayat^1,4, Letizia Chiodo¹, Alessandro Scaglione^3,4, Francesco Saverio Pavone^2,3,4; ¹Campus Bio Medico University of Rome,, ²The National Institute of Optics (CNR-INO), ³Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Univ. of Florence, ⁴LENS - European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy

Urbanization increasingly challenges mental health, with chronic stress contributing to significant physiological and psychological burdens. This study explores the neural and physiological markers of cognitive stress and investigates the potential of natural environments to mitigate these effects. Twenty participants took part in a controlled experiment combining 32-channel EEG with complementary physiological recordings, including HRV, ECG, and respiration. Stress was induced via the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST), followed by randomized exposure to either natural or urban video stimuli, with two sessions spaced three weeks apart. Our results confirm that the MIST reliably elevates stress levels, as evidenced by increased tonic galvanic skin response (GSR) relative to baseline. EEG analyses revealed band-specific modulations consistent with heightened cognitive load. Importantly, subsequent video exposure led to measurable stress reduction across participants, with trends suggesting that naturalistic environments may promote more pronounced recovery compared to urban settings. These findings underscore the embodied nature of stress regulation, demonstrating that both central (EEG) and peripheral (GSR, HRV, ECG) measures effectively capture dynamic stress responses and recovery trajectories. Moreover, exposure to controlled naturalistic stimuli offers a promising framework for studying restorative processes in real-world and virtual contexts, highlighting the potential for environment-based interventions to support mental well-being.

Topic Area: PERCEPTION & ACTION: Multisensory