NCT04211779

a-tDCS Combined With Aerobic Exercise in Healthy Individuals

The Effect of Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Aerobic Exercise on Performance in Healthy Individuals

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 21 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Marmara University · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 20 Years – 25 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the effects on the exercise performance of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation combined with aerobic exercise in healthy individuals.

Detailed description

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that has become increasingly popular in recent years. tDCS shows promising improvements for the motor performance of healthy individuals as well as pathological conditions. Moreover, it is frequently preferred because of its safety advantage, high tolerability as well as being cheap, portable and easily applicable. Studies have shown that tDCS can modulate the excitability of both cortical and subcortical brain regions. In recent years, there have been scientific studies investigating the effects of tDCS on improving physical performance in healthy individuals, but these studies are limited in number, their results are conflicted and as far as the investigators know there is no study that combines tDCS with exercise. Moreover, although the mechanisms of tDCS on physical performance are largely unknown, some tDCS devices are open to public usage and a large number of professional athletes have reported using tDCS during their training programs. Therefore, studies are needed to demonstrate the effects of tDCS which combined with exercise on performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation combined with aerobic exercise on physical performance in healthy individuals.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Real tDCS	Real tDCS (TCT Research Limited, Hong Kong); 3 times a week on alternate days for consecutive 6 weeks. The active session of tDCS will consist in applying anodal stimulation over left M1 (C3 according to the 10-20 international EEG placement) and the cathodal stimulation over right supraorbital area (Fp2 according to the 10-20 international EEG placement), and to inject 2 mA for 20 minutes through sponge electrodes (35 cm²) placed on the scalp.
DEVICE	Sham tDCS	Sham current (TCT Research Limited, Hong Kong); 3 times a week on alternate days for consecutive 6 weeks. The sham tDCS will use the same montage and device but direct current will only be injected for 30 seconds, with a ramp-up and ramp-down 15 seconds period, to mimic the somatosensory effects of active tDCS.
OTHER	Exercise	The Exercise intervention will include only aerobic exercise 3 times a week on alternate days for consecutive 6 weeks. The program will last 20 minutes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-03-01
• Primary completion: 2021-10-29
• Completion: 2021-12-29
• First posted: 2019-12-26
• Last updated: 2020-01-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)