A dual-mode neurostimulation approach to enhance athletic performance outcome in experienced taekwondo practitioners

Abstract

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a growing empirical approach to improve athletic performance. Some recent studies have investigated the effects of transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) on the motor performance such as reaction time. TDCS and tsDCS can lead to alteration of the spontaneous neural activity, and the membrane potentials of motor neurons in cerebral cortex and spinal interneurons, respectively. Given the paucity of experimental studies on the non-invasive brain stimulation in the field of sports neuroscience, especially martial sports, the present study aimed at investigating the effects of neurostimulation in potentiating the motor and cognitive functions in experienced taekwondo practitioners. The study sample included 15 experienced male taekwondo players who received real or sham direct current stimulation on the primary motor cortex (M1) and the lumbar spinal segment (T12-L2) over two sessions, 72 h apart. Next, the performance of the participants was evaluated through a simulation of taekwondo exercise directly after the sham and real sessions. Moreover, a cognitive platform (CBS: Cambridge Brain Science) was used to investigate the participants’ cognitive profile in each instance. Unlike sham stimulation, real tDCS was associated with improved selective attention and reaction time in both in the simulated task performance and cognitive examination. The concurrent cortical and trans-spinal tDCS was found to improve selective attention (31% performance improvement) (P < 0.0001) [EFFECT SIZE; 1.84]. and reduce reaction time (4.7% performance improvement) (P < 0.0001) [EFFECT SIZE; 0.02]. Meanwhile, the intervention failed to leave a significant change in cognitive functions evaluated through CBS (P > 0.05). As informed by our results, the present dual-mode neurostimulation could improve motor functions potentially through the effect of tsDCS over the spinal interneurons and tDCS over the primary motor cortex. Likewise, our findings suggested an improved performance in simulated taekwondo task after real- but not sham-stimulation. This study paves the way for designing neurostimulation protocols to improve the performance of professional athletes, namely martial art practitioners, including their accuracy and velocity of reactions. Such positive effects of neuostimulation in athletic performance as demonstrated in this research and similar reports are expected to enhance the athletes’ success in professional competitions.

Transcranial direct current stimulation alleviates nociceptive behavior in male rats with neuropathic pain by regulating oxidative stress and reducing neuroinflammation

“…Parallel with those studies and our data, Bocci et al (2014) showed that cathodal tsDCS improves motor unit recruitment by making motoneurons more responsive to synaptic activation. Recently, Kamali et al (2023) showed that cathodal tsDCS improved motor function potentially through the effect of tsDCS over the spinal interneurons.…”

What Else Can Be Done by the Spinal Cord? A Review on the Effectiveness of Transpinal Direct Current Stimulation (tsDCS) in Stroke Recovery

“…Since glutamate activates both ionic and G-protein coupled receptors, which are responsible for a lasting increase in efficacy of synaptic transmission in the spinal cord [ 61 ] and in the brain [ 62 ] (i.e., long term potentiation (LTP)), the hypothesis was advanced that tsDCS might be used as an additional technique to enhance motor activity [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] and to facilitate motor and cognitive recovery in post-stroke populations [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 63 ].…”

“…The authors hypothesized that while tsDCS acted locally over the spinal circuits, rTMS probably promoted changes in the presynaptic inhibition of spinal motoneurons [ 47 ]. Interestingly, beneficial effects were found in athletic performance of experienced boxers and taekwondo practitioners also by combining anodal tDCS over the motor cortex with cathodal tsDCS over the thoracic region [ 51 , 54 ]. Indeed, the simultaneous stimulation of motor cortex and spinal cord significantly improved selective attention and reaction times, which, in turn, enhanced athletic performance.…”

“…As shown in Table 2 , the effects of tsDCS on motor improvement in humans were identified in 10 out of 17 studies. Most studies targeted the thoracic vertebrae (T-11-T12; [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 53 ] (but see [ 51 , 54 ]) showing that anodal tsDCS can be effective in preventing fatigue and in enhancing different whole-body movements [ 45 , 48 ]. It can also improve sleep and restless leg symptoms (RLSs) in idiopathic RLS subjects [ 50 ].…”

“…Similarly, Yamaguchi et al [ 49 ] found that cathodal tsDCS can facilitate voluntary motor output. Beneficial effects have also been reported for anodal tDCS over the motor cortex combined with cathodal tsDCS in the mean errors scores and in the reaction times of a selective attention task in experienced boxers and taekwondo practitioners [ 51 , 54 ]. Only Fava De Lima et al [ 53 ] did not report significant changes in the postural sway of seventeen healthy individuals during quiet standing after anodal or cathodal tsDCS.…”