Transcranial direct current stimulations at bilateral brain motor areas elevate maximum output power of both lower limbs

doi:10.12307/2021.106

Abstract

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation technology is a new type of brain stimulation technique that has been proved to improve muscle strength, aerobic endurance, and cognitive ability. However, whether transcranial direct current stimulation can improve the ability of lower limb power output or not is less researched.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of single-session anodal transcranial direct current stimulation at bilateral brain motor areas on countermovement jump performance.
METHODS: Twelve healthy male college students, (24.25±1.21) years old, height: (175.91±4.60) cm, weight: (76.56±8.72) kg, were recruited. Randomized crossover design was used, and the subjects were randomly assigned to anode stimulating group or sham stimulating group. The experiment was conducted twice, with an departing interval of 7 days. All the subjects were given 2 mA anodal or sham stimulation for 20 minutes targeting the bilateral motor cortex. A countermovement jump test was conducted before each stimulation. Jump height and relative maximum power were recorded immediately after stimulation and every 10-minute intervals during 1 hour after stimulation, in order to analyze the effect of anodal stimulation on the countermovement jump of healthy men. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to judge the test-retest reliability of the experiment, and repeated measurement variance analysis was used to compare the jump height and relative maximum power of the countermovement jump test between the two groups at different time periods. The implementation of the study complied with the relevant ethical requirements of Wuhan Sports University with an approval No. 2019006. All the subjects voluntarily participated in the trial and signed an informed consent form.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: For the test-retest reliability, the correlation coefficient of jump height was 0.921 (P < 0.001), and the correlation coefficient of relative maximum power was 0.938 (P < 0.001). For the relative maximum power, the main effect of the group was significant(P < 0.05, pη2=0.557). The relative maximum power of the stimulating group (4.9%) was significantly higher than that of the sham stimulating group. There were no significant differences in the interaction of group × time and the main effect of the time on the relative maximum power (P > 0.05, pη2=0.072 and 0.062). For the jump height, the interaction of group × time and the main effect of group and time had no significant difference (P > 0.05, pη2=0.088, 0.196 and 0.069). These findings indicate that the maximum output power of lower extremities of healthy adult males is increased within 1 hour after anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (2 mA, 20 minutes) at bilateral motor areas of the brain.

Key words: transcranial direct current stimulation, countermovement jump, explosive power, physical performance, peak power

CLC Number:

Hu Huili, Li Danyang, Nie Qiu, Ni Lili, Chen Yiyi. Transcranial direct current stimulations at bilateral brain motor areas elevate maximum output power of both lower limbs[J]. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research, 2021, 25(26): 4180-4185.

Figures/Tables 6

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