Application and effectiveness of tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) in sport performance enhancement of athletes: A review study

Sports performance is an important issue in sports that researches have always sought to identify different methods to improve it. One of the methods that has received special attention in recent years is tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) and its effectiveness in improving sports performance. tDCS changes the activity of brain areas involved in sports performance by stimulating and inhibiting nerve cells and neural plasticity. Researches have used this method in improving sports performance and have been associated with different results. The present study was conducted with the aim of reviewing the studies conducted in this field. The research method was descriptive and review. In order to collect data, keywords tDCS-sport, sport performance, sport-neuron plasticity, tDCS-neurodoping were searched from Google.scholar, apa.org (Psychinfo) and Elsevier research websites. Then the abstract, results and findings of each article were examined. 16 articles were selected and their results were analyzed. The results of the research showed that the use and effectiveness of tDCS in improving sports performance has a positive role and is associated with improving the performance of not only ordinary people but also athletes. However, the results of review studies and meta-analyses show that heterogeneity in the type of sports activity, sample size, research design, stimulation areas, tDCS protocols and methodological limitations reduce the effect size of improving athletes' performance with tDCS. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct studies focusing on specific neural sites and specific sports functions of each discipline. In general, from these findings, it can be concluded that tDCS is a safe method without side effects and has a positive effect in improving sports performance of athletes, which requires more research.