Resting-State EEG Aperiodic Activity and Negative Affective Vulnerability: The Mediating Role of Big Five Personality Traits.
- 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Drug Research and Development for Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, National Center For Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
- 2School of Management, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
- 3Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Third Affiliated Hospital, Beijing, China.
Abstract
Introduction
Resting-state EEG aperiodic parameters characterize the broadband background component of neural activity. The offset reflects overall broadband power and has been linked to population-level firing, whereas the exponent is often interpreted, within a theoretical framework, as an indirect proxy for cortical excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance. These measures may therefore provide candidate neurophysiological trait markers of negative affective vulnerability, but it remains unclear whether their associations with trait anxiety and trait depression are direct or are statistically accounted for by stable personality traits.Methods
A total of 164 healthy adults completed measures of the Big Five personality traits, trait anxiety, and trait depression and underwent eyes-closed resting-state EEG recording. Aperiodic exponent and offset were estimated at the whole-brain and regional levels using spectral parameterization. Partial correlations, hierarchical regression analyses, and bootstrap mediation analyses were conducted controlling for sex, age, and years of education.Results
Neuroticism showed the strongest and most spatially widespread positive associations with the aperiodic exponent. Trait anxiety showed more limited associations, mainly with whole-brain and frontal aperiodic parameters. The association between whole-brain exponent and trait anxiety was no longer significant after the Big Five personality traits were entered into the model. Bootstrap mediation analyses identified significant indirect effects in this association through personality traits, with neuroticism showing the largest indirect effect and conscientiousness also showing a significant indirect effect. Trait depression was not directly associated with aperiodic parameters, although significant indirect effects through personality traits were observed.Conclusions
Resting-state EEG aperiodic activity, particularly the exponent, was more consistently associated with stable personality dispositions than with negative affective vulnerability directly. Personality traits, especially neuroticism, may statistically account for part of the association between aperiodic exponent and trait anxiety. Because the data were cross-sectional, the temporal and causal direction of these associations cannot be determined.
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BibTeX
@article{lin2026restingstate,
title = {{Resting-State EEG Aperiodic Activity and Negative Affective Vulnerability: The Mediating Role of Big Five Personality Traits.}},
author = {Jin Lin and Zhiqing Dai and Sitong Feng and Ruiwen Song and Xinyue Jiang and Huanshu Xu and Ziyi Zhao and Hongpeng Lv and Hongxiao Jia},
journal = {Brain and behavior},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/brb3.71836},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908169},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Resting-State EEG Aperiodic Activity and Negative Affective Vulnerability: The Mediating Role of Big Five Personality Traits.
AU - Jin Lin
AU - Zhiqing Dai
AU - Sitong Feng
AU - Ruiwen Song
AU - Xinyue Jiang
AU - Huanshu Xu
AU - Ziyi Zhao
AU - Hongpeng Lv
AU - Hongxiao Jia
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Brain and behavior
DO - 10.1002/brb3.71836
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908169
AB - Introduction Resting-state EEG aperiodic parameters characterize the broadband background component of neural activity. The offset reflects overall broadband power and has been linked to population-level firing, whereas the exponent is often interpreted, within a theoretical framework, as an indirect proxy for cortical excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance. These measures may therefore provide candidate neurophysiological trait markers of negative affective vulnerability, but it remains unclear whether their associations with trait anxiety and trait depression are direct or are statistically accounted for by stable personality traits.Methods A total of 164 healthy adults completed measures of the Big Five personality traits, trait anxiety, and trait depression and underwent eyes-closed resting-state EEG recording. Aperiodic exponent and offset were estimated at the whole-brain and regional levels using spectral parameterization. Partial correlations, hierarchical regression analyses, and bootstrap mediation analyses were conducted controlling for sex, age, and years of education.Results Neuroticism showed the strongest and most spatially widespread positive associations with the aperiodic exponent. Trait anxiety showed more limited associations, mainly with whole-brain and frontal aperiodic parameters. The association between whole-brain exponent and trait anxiety was no longer significant after the Big Five personality traits were entered into the model. Bootstrap mediation analyses identified significant indirect effects in this association through personality traits, with neuroticism showing the largest indirect effect and conscientiousness also showing a significant indirect effect. Trait depression was not directly associated with aperiodic parameters, although significant indirect effects through personality traits were observed.Conclusions Resting-state EEG aperiodic activity, particularly the exponent, was more consistently associated with stable personality dispositions than with negative affective vulnerability directly. Personality traits, especially neuroticism, may statistically account for part of the association between aperiodic exponent and trait anxiety. Because the data were cross-sectional, the temporal and causal direction of these associations cannot be determined.
SN - 2162-3279
ER -