Acute effect of high-definition and conventional tDCS on exercise performance and psychophysiological responses in endurance athletes: a randomized controlled trial

Author(s):Show less -

da Silva Machado, Daniel Gomes ^{[1, 2]} ; Bikson, Marom ^[3] ; Datta, Abhishek ^[3] ; Caparelli-Daquer, Egas ^[4] ; Unal, Gozde ^[3] ; Baptista, Abrahao F. ^{[5, 6, 4]} ; Cyrino, Edilson Serpeloni ^[2] ; Li, Li Min ^[6] ; Morya, Edgard ^[7] ; Moreira, Alexandre ^[8] ; Okano, Alexandre Hideki ^{[5, 2, 6]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Dept Phys Educ, Natal, RN - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Londrina, Associate Grad Program Phys Educ UEM UEL, Londrina, PR - Brazil

^[3] CUNY City Coll, Dept Biomed Engn, New York, NY 10031 - USA

^[4] Rio de Janeiro State Univ UERJ, Nervous Syst Elect Stimulat Lab LabEEL, Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed ABC, Ctr Math Computat & Cognit, Sao Bernardo Do Campo, SP - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Campinas, Brazilian Inst Neurosci & Neurotechnol BRAINN CEP, Dept Neurol, Fac Med Sci, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[7] Santos Dumont Inst, Edmond & Lily Safra Int Inst Neurosci, Macaiba, RN - Brazil

^[8] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Phys Educ & Sport, Dept Sport, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS; v. 11, n. 1 JUL 6 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been used aiming to boost exercise performance and inconsistent findings have been reported. One possible explanation is related to the limitations of the so-called ``conventional{''} tDCS, which uses large rectangular electrodes, resulting in a diffuse electric field. A new tDCS technique called high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) has been recently developed. HD-tDCS uses small ring electrodes and produces improved focality and greater magnitude of its aftereffects. This study tested whether HD-tDCS would improve exercise performance to a greater extent than conventional tDCS. Twelve endurance athletes (29.4 +/- 7.3 years; 60.15 +/- 5.09 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) were enrolled in this single-center, randomized, crossover, and sham-controlled trial. To test reliability, participants performed two time to exhaustion (TTE) tests (control conditions) on a cycle simulator with 80% of peak power until volitional exhaustion. Next, they randomly received HD-tDCS (2.4 mA), conventional (2.0 mA), or active sham tDCS (2.0 mA) over the motor cortex for 20-min before performing the TTE test. TTE, heart rate (HR), associative thoughts, peripheral (lower limbs), and whole-body ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded every minute. Outcome measures were reliable. There was no difference in TTE between HD-tDCS (853.1 +/- 288.6 s), simulated conventional (827.8 +/- 278.7 s), sham (794.3 +/- 271.2 s), or control conditions (TTE1=751.1 +/- 261.6 s or TTE2=770.8 +/- 250.6 s) {[}F-(1.95; 21.4)=1.537; P=0.24; eta (2)p=0.123]. There was no effect on peripheral or whole-body RPE and associative thoughts (P>0.05). No serious adverse effect was reported. A single session of neither HD-tDCS nor conventional tDCS changed exercise performance and psychophysiological responses in athletes, suggesting that a ceiling effect may exist. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/10187-0 - Neuromodulation and Brain Regulation of Physical Exercise
• Grantee: Alexandre Hideki Okano
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 14/10134-7 - Non invasive brain stimulation, physical exercise and reward system
• Grantee: Alexandre Hideki Okano
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor