Enhancement of pinch force in the lower leg by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation

Abstract

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a procedure to polarize human brain. It has been reported that tDCS over the hand motor cortex transiently improves the performance of hand motor tasks. Here, we investigated whether tDCS could also improve leg motor functions. Ten healthy subjects performed pinch force (PF) and reaction time (RT) tasks using the left leg before, during and after anodal, cathodal or sham tDCS over the leg motor cortex.The anodal tDCS transiently enhanced the maximal leg PF but not RT during its application. Neither cathodal nor sham stimulation changed the performance. None of the interventions aVected hand PF or RT, showing the spatial speciWcity of the eVect of tDCS. These results indicate that motor performance of not only the hands but also the legs can be enhanced by anodal tDCS. tDCS may be applicable to the neuro-rehabilitation of patients with leg motor disability.

The Effects of Direct Current Stimulation on Exercise Performance, Pacing and Perception in Temperate and Hot Environments

“…However, this was not evident at the submaximal intensity used in study 2 either, although this may also have taken place at an intensity above the point of full parasympathetic withdrawal. The effect of tDCS over prolonged duration exercise beyond that studied here may be minimal considering the influence of tDCS is transient and typically subsides after ~ 30 to 60 minutes [13,6].…”

“…There is also some evidence that tDCS may provide a beneficial effect on exercise performance [11,12,13]. In particular, Okano et al [12] reported significant reductions in both heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) at sub-maximal, but not maximal intensities in trained cyclists.…”

“…Stimulation of the IC may be important as this region is involved in the awareness of subjective feelings of the body, related to athlete's perceptions of physical Page 3 of 27 exertion during dynamic exercise [14,15]. The associated performance effects have also been shown by Cogiamanian et al [11] and Tanaka et al [13] who demonstrated significant improvements in time-to-exhaustion after tDCS of ~35% in an isometric arm endurance task, whereas Tanaka et al [13] reported significant improvements in maximal pinch force of the left hallux compared with sham and cathodal stimulation conditions. More recently, Angius et al.…”

Bilateral Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Activation-Induced Regional Blood Flow Changes during Voluntary Movement

“…The effects of tDCS on motor cortex excitability can actually translate into improved movement performance in healthy controls as well as in patients with chronic stroke (Boggio et al, 2006(Boggio et al, , 2007Hummel and Cohen, 2005;Tanaka et al, 2009;Vines et al, 2006). In the current study, we show that it is the interaction of tDCS with neuronal activity induced by active movement, which may constitute the physiological correlate of tDCS on rCBF modulation.…”

La stimulation transcrânienne à courant continu : un nouvel outil de neurostimulation

“…Ces ré sultats montrent que la stimulation est davantage performante pour des fonctions qui peuvent encore ê tre amé lioré es et moins pour celles dont la performance est dé jà é levé e (Desrosiers et al, 1999). L'impact de la tDCS sur les membres infé rieurs à é galement é té é tudié en é valuant la force de pincement du gros orteil (Tanaka et al, 2009). La force de l'orteil controlaté ral à la stimulation a significativement augmenté à la suite de la tDCS anodique et ce durant au moins trente minutes aprè s la stimulation.…”