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This study evaluated whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could change physiological and psychological responses during vigorous exercise with a constant load. 13 sedentary males (23.0±4.2 years; 25.6±4.2 kg/m²) took part in this randomized, crossed-over, sham-controlled, and double-blinded study. Participants underwent 2 sessions with anodal or sham tDCS (2 mA, 20 min) applied before exercise over the left temporal cortex targeting the left insular cortex. The exercise was performed at vigorous intensity (%HR max 81.68±6.37) for 30 min. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and affective responses (pleasure/displeasure) were recorded at every 5 min. Additionally, heart rate variability (HRV) was measured before, immediately after and 60 min after the end of exercise. A 2-way repeated measure ANOVA showed that tDCS improved HRV neither at rest nor after exercise (p>0.15). Similarly, HR, RPE, and affective responses were not enhanced by tDCS during vigorous exercise (p>0.23). The findings of this study suggest that tCDS does not modulate either HRV at rest nor HR, RPE and affective responses during exercise. Transcranial direct current stimulation's efficiency might depend on the participants' levels of physical fitness and parameters of stimulation (e. g., duration, intensity, and arrangement of electrodes)., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

The study evaluated the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over prefrontal cortex on the oxygen uptake (V˙ O2) at rest and during post-exercise recovery. The V˙ O2 was assessed in eleven healthy subjects before, during tDCS (sham or anodal tDCS, 2 mA, 20 min), and 30-min following isocaloric aerobic exercise (~200 kcal). During tDCS, no changes were observed on V˙ O2 compared to baseline (P=0.95) and sham condition (P=0.85). The association between isocaloric exercise and anodal tDCS increased the V˙ O2 throughout 30-min recovery compared to sham condition (P<0.001). Therefore, the energy expenditure within the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) period, after anodal tDCS was approximately 19% higher compared to the sham condition (P<0.05). In conclusion, anodal tDCS applied on the prefrontal cortex combined with submaximal aerobic exercise increased the EPOC, enhancing the V˙ O2 and energy expenditure at least for 30-min of recovery., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

The aims of this study were to verify the relationship between rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and electromyography (EMG) increases during exhaustive constant-load cycling bouts and, to compare and to correlate the power outputs corresponding to perceived exertion threshold (PET) and neuromuscular fatigue threshold (NFT). 11 men completed 3-4 different exhaustive constant-load cycling bouts on a cycle ergometer, being RPE and EMG measured throughout the bouts. The linear regression of the RPEslope and EMGslope against the power output identified the PET and NFT intensity, respectively. There was a significant relationship between RPEslope and EMGslope (R(2)=0.69; P<0.01). However, the linearity of RPEslope (R(2)=0.93±0.07) was significantly higher (P<0.001) than EMGslope (R(2)=0.63±0.25). In addition, the RPEslope and EMGslope were related to time to exhaustion (r=-0.59 and r=-0.60; P<0.001). There was no significant difference (P=0.42) between PET (201.5±27.9W) and NFT (210.3±22.6W) and they were significantly correlated (r=0.78; P=0.005). Therefore, the RPE and EMG increases during exhaustive constant-load cycling bouts are related and, PET and NFT intensities are similar and closely associated., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)