a-tDCS Combined With Aerobic Exercise in Healthy Individuals

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Healthy
• Interventions: Device: Real tDCS; Device: Sham tDCS; Other: Exercise

• Registration Number: NCT04211779
• Lead Sponsor: Marmara University

Brief 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.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2019-12
• Study First Submitted: 2019-12-19
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-12-23
• Study First Posted: 2019-12-26
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-01-22
• Last Update Posted: 2020-01-27
• Study Start: 2020-03-01
• Primary Completion: 2021-10-29
• Study Completion: 2021-12-29

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 21

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy subject
• No use of any ergogenic substance in one year
• No history of active exercise training in last 6 months

Exclusion Criteria

• Pacemaker
• Intracerebral metallic implant
• Using dietary supplementation or medication potentially affecting the CNS
• Musculoskeletal injury within the past 6 weeks
• Lower extremity pain above 3 or more according to numeric pain scale
• History of epilepsy or convulsive crisis

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Real tDCS and Exercise	Real tDCS	tDCS (tDCS - TCT Research Limited, Hong Kong) / Exercise Group in which will receive the active intervention of aerobic exercise training and active tDCS intervention at the same time.
Sham tDCS and Exercise	Exercise	Sham tDCS (tDCS - TCT Research Limited, Hong Kong) / Exercise Group in which will receive the active intervention of aerobic exercise training and sham tDCS intervention at the same time.
Sham tDCS and Exercise	Sham tDCS	Sham tDCS (tDCS - TCT Research Limited, Hong Kong) / Exercise Group in which will receive the active intervention of aerobic exercise training and sham tDCS intervention at the same time.
Exercise	Exercise	Exercise group in which will receive the active intervention of aerobic exercise training no tDCS intervention.
Real tDCS and Exercise	Exercise	tDCS (tDCS - TCT Research Limited, Hong Kong) / Exercise Group in which will receive the active intervention of aerobic exercise training and active tDCS intervention at the same time.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Effect of tDCS combined with aerobic exercise on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) in healthy individuals.	2 months	RPE will be assessed continuously (every 3 minutes) during the time to exhaustion trial using the Borg rating of perceived exertion scale (RPE scale). The Borg RPE scale is a quantitative measure of perceived exertion during physical activity. The scale starts with "no feeling of exertion," which rates a 6, and ends with "very, very hard," which rates a 20. Moderate activities register 11 to 14 on the Borg scale ("fairly light" to "somewhat hard"), while vigorous activities usually rate a 15 or higher ("hard" to "very, very hard").
Effect of tDCS combined with aerobic exercise on exercise performance in healthy individuals.	2 months	The performance will be evaluated by measuring the maximal consumption of oxygen (VO2max). VO2max will be assessed continuously during the time to exhaustion trial using a gas analyzer

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Effect of tDCS combined with aerobic exercise on isokinetic muscle strength in healthy individuals.	2 months	The isokinetic muscle strength of knee extensors of the dominant leg will be evaluated by using Biodex System 3 isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, NY, USA)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Marmara University; 🇹🇷 İstanbul, Turkey