Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes
Background: Sports fatigue in soccer athletes has been shown to decrease neural activity, impairing cognitive function and negatively affecting motor performance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter cortical excitability, augment synaptic plasticity, and enhan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IMR Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Integrative Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JIN/24/1/10.31083/JIN26401 |
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| author | Fengxue Qi Na Zhang Michael A. Nitsche Longyan Yi Yingqiu Zhang Tian Yue |
| author_facet | Fengxue Qi Na Zhang Michael A. Nitsche Longyan Yi Yingqiu Zhang Tian Yue |
| author_sort | Fengxue Qi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Sports fatigue in soccer athletes has been shown to decrease neural activity, impairing cognitive function and negatively affecting motor performance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter cortical excitability, augment synaptic plasticity, and enhance cognitive function. However, its potential to ameliorate cognitive impairment during sports fatigue remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the effect of dual-site tDCS targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or primary motor cortex (M1) on attention, decision-making, and working memory in elite soccer athletes during sports fatigue. Methods: Sports fatigue was induced in 23 (non-goalkeeper) elite soccer athletes, who then participated in three counterbalanced intervention sessions: dual-site tDCS over the M1, dual-site tDCS over the DLPFC, and sham tDCS. Following tDCS, participants completed the Stroop, Iowa Gambling, and 2-back tasks. Results: We found a significant improvement in Stroop task accuracy following dual-site anodal tDCS over the M1 compared with the sham intervention in the incongruent condition (p = 0.036). Net scores in the Iowa Gambling task during blocks 4 (p = 0.019) and 5 (p = 0.014) significantly decreased under dual-site tDCS targeting the DLPFC compared with the sham intervention. No differences in 2-back task performance were observed between sessions (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: We conclude that dual-site anodal tDCS applied to the M1 enhanced attention performance while tDCS targeting the DLPFC increased risk propensity in a decision-making task during sports fatigue in elite soccer athletes. However, dual-site anodal tDCS targeting either the M1 or DLPFC did not significantly influence working memory performance during sports fatigue in this population. These preliminary findings suggest that dual-site tDCS targeting the M1 has beneficial effects on attention performance, potentially informing future research on sports fatigue in athletes. Clinical Trial Registration: No: NCT06594978. Registered 09 September, 2024; https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=NCT06594978. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ec2cc97e8de4fc8b5ec557034414e51 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0219-6352 1757-448X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IMR Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Integrative Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ec2cc97e8de4fc8b5ec557034414e512025-01-25T07:38:07ZengIMR PressJournal of Integrative Neuroscience0219-63521757-448X2025-01-012412640110.31083/JIN26401S0219-6352(24)00873-8Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer AthletesFengxue Qi0Na Zhang1Michael A. Nitsche2Longyan Yi3Yingqiu Zhang4Tian Yue5Sports, Exercise and Brain Sciences Laboratory, Sports Coaching College, Beijing Sport University, 100084 Beijing, ChinaSports, Exercise and Brain Sciences Laboratory, Sports Coaching College, Beijing Sport University, 100084 Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139 Dortmund, GermanyChina Institute of Sport and Health Science, Beijing Sport University, 100084 Beijing, ChinaSports, Exercise and Brain Sciences Laboratory, Sports Coaching College, Beijing Sport University, 100084 Beijing, ChinaSports, Exercise and Brain Sciences Laboratory, Sports Coaching College, Beijing Sport University, 100084 Beijing, ChinaBackground: Sports fatigue in soccer athletes has been shown to decrease neural activity, impairing cognitive function and negatively affecting motor performance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter cortical excitability, augment synaptic plasticity, and enhance cognitive function. However, its potential to ameliorate cognitive impairment during sports fatigue remains largely unexplored. This study investigated the effect of dual-site tDCS targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or primary motor cortex (M1) on attention, decision-making, and working memory in elite soccer athletes during sports fatigue. Methods: Sports fatigue was induced in 23 (non-goalkeeper) elite soccer athletes, who then participated in three counterbalanced intervention sessions: dual-site tDCS over the M1, dual-site tDCS over the DLPFC, and sham tDCS. Following tDCS, participants completed the Stroop, Iowa Gambling, and 2-back tasks. Results: We found a significant improvement in Stroop task accuracy following dual-site anodal tDCS over the M1 compared with the sham intervention in the incongruent condition (p = 0.036). Net scores in the Iowa Gambling task during blocks 4 (p = 0.019) and 5 (p = 0.014) significantly decreased under dual-site tDCS targeting the DLPFC compared with the sham intervention. No differences in 2-back task performance were observed between sessions (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: We conclude that dual-site anodal tDCS applied to the M1 enhanced attention performance while tDCS targeting the DLPFC increased risk propensity in a decision-making task during sports fatigue in elite soccer athletes. However, dual-site anodal tDCS targeting either the M1 or DLPFC did not significantly influence working memory performance during sports fatigue in this population. These preliminary findings suggest that dual-site tDCS targeting the M1 has beneficial effects on attention performance, potentially informing future research on sports fatigue in athletes. Clinical Trial Registration: No: NCT06594978. Registered 09 September, 2024; https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=NCT06594978.https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JIN/24/1/10.31083/JIN26401transcranial direct current stimulationprimary motor cortexprefrontal cortexcognitive functionsports fatigue |
| spellingShingle | Fengxue Qi Na Zhang Michael A. Nitsche Longyan Yi Yingqiu Zhang Tian Yue Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes Journal of Integrative Neuroscience transcranial direct current stimulation primary motor cortex prefrontal cortex cognitive function sports fatigue |
| title | Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes |
| title_full | Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes |
| title_short | Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes |
| title_sort | effects of dual site anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on attention decision making and working memory during sports fatigue in elite soccer athletes |
| topic | transcranial direct current stimulation primary motor cortex prefrontal cortex cognitive function sports fatigue |
| url | https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JIN/24/1/10.31083/JIN26401 |
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