Department of Sport, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology. Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - The São Paulo Research Foundation (BRAINN/CEPID-FAPESP), University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil.
Graduate Program in Collective Health, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Physiol Behav. 2021 May 1;233:113351. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113351. Epub 2021 Feb 6.
This study aimed to examine the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) used as a recovery strategy, on heart rate (HR) measures and perceived well-being in 12 male professional soccer players. tDCS was applied in the days after official matches targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with 2 mA for 20 min (F3-F4 montage). Participants were randomly assigned to anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) or sham tDCS sessions. Players completed the Well-Being Questionnaire (WBQ) and performed the Submaximal Running Test (SRT) before and after tDCS. HR during exercise (HRex) was determined during the last 30 s of SRT. HR recovery (HRR) was recorded at 60 s after SRT. The HRR index was calculated from the absolute difference between HRex and HRR. A significant increase was observed for WBQ (effect of time; p<0.001; η=0.417) with no effect for condition or interaction. A decrease in HRR (p = 0.014; η=0.241), and an increase in HRR index were observed (p = 0.045; η=0.168), with no effect for condition or interaction. No change for HRex was evident (p>0.05). These results suggest that a-tDCS over the DLPFC may have a positive effect on enhancing well-being and parasympathetic autonomic markers, which opens up a possibility for testing tDCS as a promising recovery-enhancing strategy targeting the brain in soccer players. The findings suggest that brain areas related to emotional and autonomic control might be involved in these changes with a possible interaction effect of tDCS by placebo-related effects, but more research is needed to verify this effect.
本研究旨在探讨经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）作为一种恢复策略，对 12 名男性职业足球运动员的心率（HR）指标和主观幸福感的影响。tDCS 应用于正式比赛后的日子里，针对左背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）施加 2 mA 电流 20 分钟（F3-F4 导联）。参与者被随机分配到阳极 tDCS（a-tDCS）或假刺激 tDCS 组。球员在 tDCS 前后完成了幸福感问卷（WBQ）和亚最大跑步测试（SRT）。在 SRT 的最后 30 秒测量运动时的 HR（HRex）。在 SRT 后 60 秒记录 HR 恢复（HRR）。HRR 指数是通过 HRex 与 HRR 的绝对值差异计算得出的。WBQ 观察到显著增加（时间效应；p<0.001；η=0.417），条件或交互作用无影响。HRR 降低（p=0.014；η=0.241）和 HRR 指数增加（p=0.045；η=0.168），条件或交互作用无影响。HRex 无明显变化（p>0.05）。这些结果表明，DLPFC 上的 a-tDCS 可能对增强幸福感和副交感自主神经标志物有积极影响，这为测试 tDCS 作为一种有前途的针对足球运动员大脑的恢复增强策略提供了可能性。研究结果表明，与情绪和自主控制相关的大脑区域可能参与了这些变化，tDCS 可能通过安慰剂相关效应产生交互效应，但需要进一步研究来验证这种效应。
