Investigating the effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Endurance and Cognitive Performance of Trained Men with and without Mental Fatigue

Determining the effects of transcranial direct current electrical stimulation on the endurance and cognitive performance of trained men with and without mental fatigue

The current research will be conducted with a cross-over design with random distribution, in a double-blind manner and with the control of the placebo effect (sham) and it will be conducted on 16 athletes, and www.randomization.com will be used for randomization.

This study will be done in Razi University. After selecting the subjects and familiarizing themselves with the research process, each person will be exposed to 4 different conditions randomly and then will perform a bout of endurance activity until exhaustion.

Inclusion criteria: Endurance trained men with a history of one year regular training, body mass index (BMI) 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, obtaining a certificate of non-prohibition from participating in sports training programs from a doctor, being right-handed, not suffering from color vision disorders Entry ban criteria: Suffering from any chronic disease, history of convulsions, epilepsy or other types of neurological diseases, presence of implantable devices or pacemakers in the body, smoking and alcohol consumption

subjects are exposed to 4 different conditions:1) induction of mental fatigue + anodal stimulation + running until reaching exhaustion; 2) induction of mental fatigue + sham stimulation + running until reaching exhaustion; 3) anodal stimulation + running until exhaustion (without inducing mental fatigue); 4) Stimulation + running will be until reaching exhaustion (without inducing mental fatigue). The duration of stimulation will be 20 minutes and its intensity will be 2 mA.

Change in time to exhaustion, pressure perception, electromyography, cognitive function and reaction time.

In this study, the order of subject exposure to 4 different conditions (4 different types of electrical stimulation of the brain) will be randomized by the Latin square method. For this purpose, a number between 1 and 16 will be randomly assigned to each of the subjects as an identification code using www.random.org. Then, the English letters B, A, C, and D will be assigned to the four intervention conditions and a Latin square will be created. In this case, a Latin square with four rows and four columns is created. Finally, participants number 1 to 4 are placed in the sequence of the first row, participants number 5 to 8 are placed in the sequence of the second row, participants number 8 to 12 are placed in the sequence of the third row, and participants 13 to 16 are placed in the sequence of the fourth row.

In this double-blind study, the researcher and participants will be blinded to the type of transcranial electrical stimulation used and the location of stimulation in each session. In the current study, the neurostimulator device was used to induce direct current electrical stimulation in four separate sessions and four different modes, including: 1) induction of mental fatigue + brain anodal stimulation + running until reaching paralysis; 2) induction of mental fatigue + sham stimulation + running until reaching exhaustion; 3) cerebral anodal stimulation + running until exhaustion (without inducing mental fatigue); 4) Stimulation + running will be until reaching exhaustion (without inducing mental fatigue). For this purpose, a person outside the research team will be responsible for applying electrical stimulation in four experimental sessions. In order to blind the participants, after they sit on a special chair, the stimulating device is hidden from their sight and is completely covered by a cover, and the electrodes are placed on the desired areas by the examiner. In order to blind the researcher, before the intervention, the researcher leaves the laboratory and returns to the test site after the stimulation period has passed and the electrodes are removed and the stimulation device is turned off. Also, in the sham stimulation mode, according to standard protocols, the active current is induced on the head for 30 seconds to induce the same sensation as the active stimulation mode, and then the current is cut off and the stimulation is deactivated.

All data can be shared after de-identifying subjects.

3 months after printing the results

All people upon official request

Requesting access to data for any purpose is permitted

If you need to receive the documents, send an email to Armin Amiryan, the researcher, with the email address: arminamiriyan76@gmail.com.

In case of an official request, stating the relevant reasons and mentioning the complete details, the data will be sent via email after 72 hours.