CLINICAL TRIAL article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1649732
This article is part of the Research TopicNeuromodulation Techniques, Mechanisms, and Potential Benefits for Physical Activity Participation and Human PerformanceView all 6 articles
Effect of repeated sessions of dual-site anodal tDCS on post-exercise performance and subjective recovery in recreationally active females: A randomized controlled trial
Provisionally accepted
- 1Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
- 2University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- 3Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
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Background: Previous studies have investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on performance enhancement, but limited research has examined its impact on post-exercise recovery. This study aimed to assess the effects of three consecutive sessions of dualsite anodal tDCS, targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC), on both subjective and objective recovery measures in recreationally active females. Methods: Twenty-five recreationally active females were randomly assigned to either an anodal tDCS group (n=13) or a sham group (n=12). Performance and recovery were assessed at three time points: (1) before tDCS intervention, (2) immediately after a fatigue-inducing time-toexhaustion test, and (3) following a 24-hour recovery period. Participants completed a 3-km cycling time trial (TT) and a Sargent Jump Test (SJT) at each assessment. Additionally, after 24 hours of recovery, they completed the Total Quality Recovery (TQR) scale and the Well-Being Questionnaire (WBQ). Following baseline measurements, participants received their assigned intervention, three consecutive daily stimulation sessions (2 mA, 20 min, targeting +F3/-AF8 and +Cz/-AFz simultaneously), before the fatigue-inducing task. Results: Both groups exhibited similar physiological and perceived exertion responses during the fatigue-inducing task (all p>0.05). While the a-tDCS group showed significant improvements in 3-km TT performance at 24 hours post-recovery compared to baseline (p<0.001, 95% CI [-36.71, -11.33]) and post-fatigue (p<0.001, 95% CI [-28.4, -8.96]), there were no between-group differences (p>0.05). However, the tDCS group reported higher TQR scores than the sham group at 24 hours (p = 0.046, 95% CI [0.000, 2.000]). No significant between-group differences were observed in explosive performance (SJT) or WBQ scores (all p>0.05). Conclusion: Three sessions of dual-site a-tDCS targeting M1 and L-DLPFC may enhance perceived recovery (TQR) in recreationally active females, but do not significantly influence well-being (WBQ) or objective performance recovery measures. The benefit appears to be subjective only, without a measurable performance advantage.
Keywords: transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), Neuromodulation, Performance recovery, Dual-Site Stimulation, endurance exercise, Subjective recovery, Motor cortex (M1), Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) Clinical Trial Registry: The trial was registered in the Iranian Clinical Trial Registry (www.irct.behdasht.gov.ir, IRCT ID: IRCT20230925059509N1)
Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 20 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sharifi Melahbid, Amiri, Tadibi and Machado. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ehsan Amiri, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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