Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2021 Feb 1;16(2):224-231. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2019-0910. Epub 2020 Dec 4.
The effects of anodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) on endurance exercise performance are not yet fully understood. Different stimulated areas and low focality of classical tDCS technique may have led to discordant results.
This study investigated the effect of a bilateral anodal high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on the cycling time-trial (TT) performance and physiological and perceptual response at moderate intensity in elite cyclists.
A total of 8 elite cyclists (maximal oxygen consumption: 72.2 [4.3] mL·min-1·kg-1) underwent in a double-blind, counterbalanced, and randomized order the experimental treatment (HD-tDCS) or control treatment (SHAM). After 20 minutes of receiving either HD-tDCS on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3 and F4) or SHAM stimulation, the participants completed a constant-load trial (CLT) at 75% of the second ventilatory threshold. Thereafter, they performed a simulated 15-km TT. The ratings of perceived exertion, heart rate, cadence, oxygen consumption, and respiratory exchange ratio were recorded during the CLT; the ratings of perceived exertion and heart rate were recorded during the TT.
The total time to complete the TT was 1.3% faster (HD-tDCS: 1212 [52] s vs SHAM: 1228 [56] s; P = .04) and associated with a higher heart rate (P < .001) and a tendency toward higher mean power output (P = .05). None of the physiological and perceptual variables measured during the CLT highlighted differences between the HD-tDCS and SHAM condition.
The findings suggest that bilateral HD-tDCS on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves cycling TT performance without altering the physiological and perceptual response at moderate intensity, indicating that an upregulation of the prefrontal cortex could enhance endurance exercise performance.
阳极经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）对耐力运动表现的影响尚不完全清楚。不同的刺激区域和经典 tDCS 技术的低聚焦性可能导致了不一致的结果。
本研究旨在探讨双侧背外侧前额叶皮层的阳极高清晰度 tDCS（HD-tDCS）对精英自行车运动员在中等强度下的计时赛（TT）表现以及生理和感知反应的影响。
共有 8 名精英自行车运动员（最大摄氧量：72.2[4.3]mL·min-1·kg-1）以双盲、对照和随机顺序接受实验治疗（HD-tDCS）或对照治疗（SHAM）。在接受背外侧前额叶皮层（F3 和 F4）的 HD-tDCS 或 SHAM 刺激 20 分钟后，参与者在 75%的第二次呼吸阈进行恒定负荷试验（CLT）。之后，他们进行了模拟的 15 公里 TT。在 CLT 期间记录了感知用力、心率、踏频、耗氧量和呼吸交换比；在 TT 期间记录了感知用力和心率。
完成 TT 的总时间快了 1.3%（HD-tDCS：1212[52]s 比 SHAM：1228[56]s；P=.04），且与更高的心率（P <.001）和更高的平均功率输出（P=.05）有关。在 CLT 期间测量的生理和感知变量均未显示出 HD-tDCS 和 SHAM 条件之间的差异。
这些发现表明，背外侧前额叶皮层的双侧 HD-tDCS 可提高自行车 TT 表现，而不改变中等强度下的生理和感知反应，表明前额叶皮层的上调可能增强耐力运动表现。
