ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2015
The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation of the motor cortex on exercise-induced pain.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- "Do probiotics mitigate GI-induced inflammation and perceived fatigue in athletes? A systematic review".Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- The influence of a single transcranial direct current stimulation session on physical fitness in healthy subjects: a systematic review.Experimental brain research · 2023Pooled it
- Is tDCS an Adjunct Ergogenic Resource for Improving Muscular Strength and Endurance Performance? A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Pooled it
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- Concomitant dual-site tDCS and dark chocolate improve cognitive and endurance performance following cognitive effort under hypoxia: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
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- Reduced isometric knee extensor force following anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the ipsilateral motor cortex.PloS one · 2023Trial
- Acute effect of high-definition and conventional tDCS on exercise performance and psychophysiological responses in endurance athletes: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation enhances strength training volume but not the force-velocity profile.European journal of applied physiology · 2020Trial
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of motor cortex enhances running performance.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation reduces exercise-induced perceived pain and improves endurance exercise performance.European journal of applied physiology · 2017Trial
- Sex Does Matter! The Influence of Sex on Outcomes of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS).Cells · 2026Review
- Temporal Interference Stimulation of the Motor Cortex Produces Frequency-Dependent Analgesia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Does transcranial direct current stimulation enhance the hypoalgesic effect of exercise?Sports medicine and health science · 2026Article
- The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Basketball Performance-A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Research progress on transcranial direct current stimulation for improving muscle strength: a narrative review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Effect of tDCS targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on psychophysiological responses and brain oxygenation during exercise in healthy adults: a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Optimising transcranial direct current stimulation application for the enhancement of exercise performance: a review.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Review
- Feasibility of combining tDCS with exercise for increasing physical activity in people with depression.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) provides a new exciting means to investigate the role of the brain during exercise. However, this technique is not widely used in exercise science, with little known regarding effective electrode montages. This study investigated whether tDCS of the motor cortex (M1) would elicit an analgesic response to exercise-induced pain (EIP).
methodsNine participants completed a VO2max test and three time to exhaustion (TTE) tasks on separate days following either 10 min 2 mA tDCS of the M1, a sham or a control. Additionally, seven participants completed 3 cold pressor tests (CPT) following the same experimental conditions (tDCS, SHAM, CON). Using a well-established tDCS protocol, tDCS was delivered by placing the anodal electrode above the left M1 with the cathodal electrode above dorsolateral right prefrontal cortex. Gas exchange, blood lactate, EIP and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored during the TTE test. Perceived pain was recorded during the CPT.
resultsDuring the TTE, no significant differences in time to exhaustion, RPE or EIP were found between conditions. However, during the CPT, perceived pain was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced in the tDCS condition (7.4 ± 1.2) compared with both the CON (8.6 ± 1.0) and SHAM (8.4 ± 1.3) conditions.
conclusionThese findings demonstrate that stimulation of the M1 using tDCS does not induce analgesia during exercise, suggesting that the processing of pain produced via classic measures of experimental pain (i.e., a CPT) is different to that of EIP. These results provide important methodological advancement in developing the use of tDCS in exercise.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.