Abstract
BackgroundMotor fatigability describes a phenomenon that occurs when exhaustive exercise or physically demanding tasks are executed over an extended period of time. Concerning fast repetitive movements, it is noticeable by a reduction in movement speed (motor slowing, MoSlo) and occurs due to both central and peripheral factors. The aim of the present study was to examine the presence of MoSlo during hand- (HTT) and foot-tapping tasks (FTT) comparing trained football (FB) and handball players (HB) and non-athletes (NA). Furthermore, we were interested in how far anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) might be capable of modulating MoSlo as compared to sham.MethodsA total number of 46 participants were enrolled in a sham-controlled, double-blinded, cross-over study. HTT and FTT were performed before, during, after as well as 30 min after 20 min of tDCS over the leg area of the primary motor cortex (M1).ResultsWe could demonstrate that MoSlo during HTT and FTT is a general phenomenon that is observed independent of the type of sports and/or training status. Furthermore, we were able to show a tDCS-induced reduction in MoSlo specifically during FTT in both trained athletes and NA. No such effects could be observed for HTT, indicating local specificity of tDCS-induced effects on a behavioral level.ConclusionWe could demonstrate that tDCS is capable of reducing motor fatigability during fast repetitive movements. These findings are of pivotal interest for many sports where fatigability resistance is a limiting factor in maintaining repetitive movement patterns.
Highlights
Motor fatigability describes a phenomenon that occurs when exhaustive exercise or physically demanding tasks are executed over an extended period of time
While anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induces an increase of area-specific excitability, cathodal tDCS induces opposing effects [19], which can be observed by changes in the motor evoked potential (MEP) evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Baseline comparisons Baseline comparisons of bin 1 revealed significant differences between groups indicating higher values in FB and handball players (HB) compared to NA. uANOVA showed a significant main effect of group in Hand tapping task (HTT) for left (HL) (F(2,43) = 12.081, p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.360), Hand right (HR) (F(2,43) = 11.268, p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.344), FL (F(2,43) = 17.144, p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.444) and Foot right (FR) (F(2,43) = 11.635, p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.351)
Summary
Motor fatigability describes a phenomenon that occurs when exhaustive exercise or physically demanding tasks are executed over an extended period of time. Their results indicate that anodal tDCS led to a reduction in muscle fatigability These findings were confirmed by a recent systematic review and meta-analysis by Lattari et al [21] concerning acute effects of single dose of tDCS on muscle strength, suggesting that the use of tDCS may promote increases in maximal voluntary contraction and muscular endurance through isometric contractions in novice and advanced strength training. Taking this into account, Banissy and Muggleton [22] assume that it is possible to modulate fatigability to a large degree with tDCS stimulation. While there is some controversy about tDCS-induced effects on motor performance [23], recent reviews suggest that tDCS may have a moderate positive impact on performance levels [24, 25]
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