Endurance Research Group, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent, Chatham Maritime, United Kingdom; Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom.
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Division of Cognitive Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Neuroscience. 2019 Nov 1;419:34-45. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.052. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a crucial brain region for inhibitory control, an executive function essential for behavioral self-regulation. Recently, inhibitory control has been shown to be important for endurance performance. Improvement in inhibitory control was found following transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over the left DLPFC (L-DLPFC). This study examined the effect tDCS on both an inhibitory control and endurance performance in a group of healthy individuals. Twelve participants received either real tDCS (Real-tDCS) or placebo tDCS (Sham-tDCS) in randomized order. The anodal electrode was placed over the L-DLPFC while the cathodal electrode was placed above Fp2. Stimulation lasted 30min with current intensity set at 2mA. A Stroop test was administered to assess inhibitory control. Heart rate (HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and leg muscle pain (PAIN) were monitored during the cycling time to exhaustion (TTE) test, while blood lactate accumulation (∆B[La]) was measured at exhaustion. Stroop task performance was improved after Real-tDCS as demonstrated by a lower number of errors for incongruent stimuli (p=0.012). TTE was significantly longer following Real-tDCS compared to Sham-tDCS (p=0.029, 17±8 vs 15±8min), with significantly lower HR (p=0.002) and RPE (p<0.001), while no significant difference was found for PAIN (p>0.224). ∆B[La] was significantly higher at exhaustion in Real-tDCS (p=0.040). Our findings provide preliminary evidence that tDCS with the anodal electrode over the L-DLPFC can improve both inhibitory control and endurance cycling performance in healthy individuals.
背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）是抑制控制的关键脑区，而抑制控制是行为自我调节的执行功能的重要组成部分。最近，抑制控制已被证明对耐力表现很重要。经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）应用于左侧 DLPFC（L-DLPFC）后，发现抑制控制得到改善。本研究在一组健康个体中检查了 tDCS 对抑制控制和耐力表现的影响。12 名参与者以随机顺序接受真实 tDCS（Real-tDCS）或假 tDCS（Sham-tDCS）。阳极电极置于 L-DLPFC 上方，阴极电极置于 Fp2 上方。刺激持续 30 分钟，电流强度设定为 2mA。采用 Stroop 测试评估抑制控制。在进行至力竭的踏车时间试验（TTE）期间监测心率（HR）、感知用力程度（RPE）和腿部肌肉疼痛（PAIN），并在力竭时测量血乳酸积累（∆B[La]）。Real-tDCS 后 Stroop 任务表现得到改善，表现为不一致刺激的错误数减少（p=0.012）。与 Sham-tDCS 相比，Real-tDCS 后 TTE 明显延长（p=0.029，17±8 与 15±8 分钟），HR（p=0.002）和 RPE（p<0.001）明显降低，而 PAIN 无显著差异（p>0.224）。Real-tDCS 时力竭时∆B[La]明显升高（p=0.040）。我们的研究结果初步证明，在 L-DLPFC 上施加阳极电极的 tDCS 可以改善健康个体的抑制控制和耐力踏车表现。
