ArticleFrontiers in physiology2021
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Enhances Muscle Strength of Non-dominant Knee in Healthy Young Males.
Article in Frontiers in physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acute effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on endurance and maximal voluntary contraction in lower limbs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Experimental brain research · 2025Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the acute effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on athletic performance.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Does a single session of transcranial direct current stimulation enhance both physical and psychological performance in national- or international-level athletes? A systematic review.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Individualized Physical Therapy on Pain and Function in Individuals With Chronic Knee Pain: A Pilot Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Outcomes From Use of the Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11⁺ Program With and Without Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in 60 Male High School Soccer Players.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Trial
- The impacts of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with aquatic neuromuscular training on pain, function, kinesiophobia, knee instability, and quality of life in knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind randomized trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Trial
- Acute Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Pelvic Floor Muscle Function in Young Healthy Women: Initial Findings of a Randomized Controlled Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2024Trial
- Effect of tDCS targeting the M1 or left DLPFC on physical performance, psychophysiological responses, and cognitive function in repeated all-out cycling: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Anodal Motor-Cortex Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Explosive Lower-Limb Power in Healthy Active Adults: A Sham-Controlled Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Pushing athletic performance boundaries with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation: an exploratory, pilot, randomized controlled study on strength and inflammation in elite weightlifters.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Low intensity transcranial electric stimulation: Safety, ethical, legal regulatory and application guidelines (2017-2025: An update) - endorsed by the European Society for Brain Stimulation (ESBS) and by the International Federation for Clinical Neurophysiology (IFCN).Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Review
- The Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Improving Performance in Soccer Players-A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Effects of repeated tDCS on lower limb muscle explosive strength and executive function in male collegiate volleyball players: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on neuromuscular control during directional change.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) in human motor Optimization: Mechanisms, safety, and emerging applications.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2025Review
- Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on isometric endurance performance and electromyographic activity of the vastus lateralis in healthy male.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Enhancing golf swing performance through M1-targeted transcranial direct current stimulation: a double-blind, randomized crossover study.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been applied in training and competition, but its effects on physical performance remain largely unknown. This study aimed to observe the effect of tDCS on muscular strength and knee activation. Nineteen healthy young men were subjected to 20 min of real stimulation (2 mA) and sham stimulation (0 mA) over the primary motor cortex (M1) bilaterally on different days. The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the knee extensors and flexors, and surface electromyography (sEMG) of the rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF) were recorded before, immediately after, and 30 min after stimulation. MVC, rate of force development (RFD), and sEMG activity were analyzed before and after each condition. MVC of the non-dominant leg extensor and flexor was significantly higher immediately after real stimulation and 30 min after stimulation than before, and MVC of the non-dominant leg flexor was significantly higher 30 min after real stimulation than that after sham stimulation (
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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.