Foreign Research Progress on the Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Sports Performance

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation is a non-invasive brain stimulation technology, which can regulate the excitability of cortical nerve and enhance the connection between brain and muscle, thereby improve the motor ability. By searching the literature in the database of Web of Science, this paper systematically summarizes the oversea researches about the influence of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation technology on sports performance, and analyzes the safety, ethics and optimization methods in the application of this technology to sports. It is concluded that: 1) Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation technology has potential advantages in improving motor performance, including delaying muscle fatigue, enhancing muscle strength, promoting motor skill acquisition, enhancing motor sense and improving balance ability. However, a small number of studies didn't observe these effects because of the differences in brain regions selection and stimulation patterns(stimulation intensity, time, plate size,etc.); 2) the experimental task setting in the evaluation of muscle strength, motor skill learning, motor sensation and balance ability are relatively simple, and the selection of the best stimulation brain area and stimulation paradigm as well as the evaluation of complex and difficult motor tasks needs further study. Only a few empirical studies recruited athletes to verify the effect of this technology on their sports performance; 3) the safety of the application of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation technology in sports training is controversial, so more studies are needed to clarified how to use the technology safely; 4) according to the doping standard defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA), whether the transcranial Direct Current Stimulation technology in competitive sports is a nerve stimulant or not is not very clear; 5) in the future, more studies should be carry out to apply this technology to real sports situations with the help of science and technology, so as to improve athletes' performance.