Clinical trial NCT04005846: tDCS to Increase Aerobic Performance in Runners
Official title: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to Improve Maximal Aerobic Performance in Recreational and Trained Runners
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE1
PHASE2
Conditions: Athletic Performance
Lead sponsor: University of Liege
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-07-02
Enrollment: 53
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 35
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Intervention model description: Double-blind randomized sham controlled crossover
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: Many different factors affect running performance, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a widely used and available neuromodulation tool and could hypothetically facilitate the supraspinal drive and thereby act upstream of the motor cortex to prolong the muscles work in time to exhaustion trials. While it appears to decrease the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during cycling, little is known about the effects of tDCS on physiological performance parameters such as maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), maximal aerobic speed (MAS) and lactate thresholds in runners.

The aim of this prospective randomized sham-controlled clinical trial is to investigate the physiological effects of tDCS applied over the motor cortex on perceived exertion and performance-related parameters measured by an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion.

This research thus aims at answering the following questions:

1. Is active tDCS applied bilaterally over the motor cortex significantly more efficient than sham tDCS to improve the TTE?
2. Does active tDCS decreases the RPE, as compared to sham?
3. Is there any significant difference between active and sham tDCS on the physiological parameters measured during an incremental test to exhaustion, namely: VO2max, MAS, respiratory exchange ratio, blood lactate levels, maximal heart rate?
4. Does the baseline level of physical fitness influences response to tDCS?

The investigators hypothesize that 1) performance as measured by time to exertion will be increased following active and not sham tDCS due to a decreased perceived rate of exertion without significantly altering the other physiological parameters; and 2) performance as measured by incremental treadmill test to exhaustion will be more improved in recreational as compared to trained runners.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Healthy subject
* Regular running activity above 2 hours/week
* VO2max above 30 mL/min/kg

Exclusion Criteria:

* Pacemaker
* Intracerebral metallic implant
* Smoking
* Using dietary supplementation or medication potentially affecting the CNS
* Musculoskeletal injury within the past 6 weeks

Primary outcomes:
measure: Time to exertion (active vs. sham)
timeFrame: Immediate
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) evolution (active vs. sham)
timeFrame: Every 3 minutes during the test to exhaustion until the end of the test (up to 1 hour after the stimulation)
measure: Maximal Oxygen Consumption (VO2max) evolution (active vs. sham)
timeFrame: Immediate
measure: Lactate thresholds (active vs. sham)
timeFrame: Every 3 minutes during the test to exhaustion until the end of the test (up to 1 hour after the stimulation)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Liège
country: Belgium
facility: ISEPK ULiège
Study officials:
References: