Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique used to modulate neuronal excitability through non-invasive brain stimulation that can enhance exercise performance. We hypothesize that tDCS would improve submaximal running time to exhaustion (TTE) and delay the increase in the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) over time. We also hypothesize that tDCS would not lead to difference in cardiorespiratory responses. We employed a randomized, single-blinded, and counterbalanced design in which 10 trained men participated. After receiving either 20 min of 1.98 mA anodal tDCS applied over the primary motor cortex (M1) or sham-operated control on separate days, participants completed a constant-load test involving running at a speed equivalent to 80% of their own maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max). During this constant-load test, RPE, heart rate (HR), VO2, pulmonary ventilation (VE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and ventilatory threshold (VT) were continuously monitored. TTE was recorded at the end of the test. TTEs were significantly longer in the tDCS than in the sham conditions (21.18 ± 7.13 min; 18.44 ± 6.32 min; p = 0.011). For TTE, no significant differences were found in RPE between conditions at isotime. In addition, no significant differences in HR, VO2, VE, RER, and VT were found during TTE between the two stimulation conditions at any time point. These results indicate that the application of tDCS does not induce a change of the exercise performance-related index; however, it can affect the increase of the exercise duration due to the stimuli in the M1 area.
Highlights
Supraspinal fatigue refers to a failure of the primary motor cortex (M1) to generate output, and when combined with the peripheral fatigue mechanism, it is involved in muscle fatigue [1]
We examined the effects of Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) application on time to exhaustion (TTE) under submaximal treadmill running
There were no differences in the values for rating of perceived exertion (RPE) between measurement times according to tDCS applied condition
Summary
Supraspinal fatigue refers to a failure of the primary motor cortex (M1) to generate output, and when combined with the peripheral fatigue mechanism, it is involved in muscle fatigue [1]. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) interventions to increase M1 excitability may improve endurance performance by increasing the motor output of the M1 and delaying supraspinal fatigue [2, 3]. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and running performance sending a weak electrical current to the scalp and modifying neuronal excitability to modulate brain functions [4, 5]. During tDCS application, anodal stimulation enhances cortical activation, whereas cathodal stimulation inhibits it [6, 7]. A pharmacological study has shown that a tDCS-related effect increased cortical excitability by modifying the activation of Nmethyl-D-aspartic acid receptors [10]. A few studies have recently investigated the acute effect of tDCS on endurance performance [11, 12]. Vitro-Costa et al [13] showed that anodal stimulation in M1 improved cycling time to exhaustion (TTE) in recreationally active men
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