Introduction: The ability to regulate one’s physiology against stress, or Neuro-physiological Adaptation Capacity (NAC), is a cornerstone of health and resilience. However, its objective assessment in applied settings is limited by lack of brief, standardized protocols that integrate signals from the central and autonomic nervous systems. Objective: This pilot study aimed to validate feasibility and sensitivity of Neuro-Integral 360 (NI360) protocol to elicit and quantify psycho-physiological stress and recovery responses. Methodology: A pilot study with a quasi-experimental, repeated-measures design was conducted on a sample of 25 healthy adults (mean age = 34.2 ± 9.1 years). Participants completed the five-phase NI360 Protocol. Heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (RMSSD), and the EEG Theta/Beta ratio (TBR) were continuously recorded. Paired t-tests with FDR correction were applied. Results: The cognitive challenge induced a significant stress response, with an increase in HR (mean Δ = +35.1 bpm, p < .001) and a suppression of RMSSD (mean Δ = -23.7 ms, p < .001) compared to rest. Guided-breathing recovery significantly increased RMSSD above baseline levels (p = .014), demonstrating strong vagal modulation. Conclusion: The Neuro-Integral360 Protocol is a viable, brief, and sensitive tool for the multimodal assessment of the stress response, laying the groundwork for its application in research and clinical practice. These preliminary results demonstrate that the Neuro-Integral 360 Protocol is a viable and effective tool for evoking and measuring neurophysiologic stress and recovery responses, justifying its validation in larger cohorts.
Vargas et al. (Fri,) studied this question.