A estimulação transcraniana por corrente contínua pode modular a percepção do esforço, afeto e o controle autonômico durante exercício aeróbio em adultos jovens sedentários?

Abstract

Introduction: New noninvasive techniques to modulate brain function has been developed, among which stands out the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). It has been shown that tDCS decreases the rating perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate by stimulation of the insular cortex. However, due to structural and functional changes in the architecture of the insular cortex in sedentary individuals, tDCS was not shown to be efficient in stimulating this cortical area during rest. It is possible that these findings also extend to physical exercise. Objective: To investigate the effect of tDCS on the RPE, affect and autonomic control in aerobic exercise in sedentary subjects. Methods: 14 subjects underwent two sessions of exercise (30 min.) At constant intensity of 120 % of the heart rate variability threshold (HRVt), applied sham or anodal tDCS in the left temporal cortex (T3) before to exercise. Every 5 minutes was checked RPE and affect, and during the whole experiment was recorded heart rate (HR) and HRV. Results: There was no difference between the anodic and sham conditions on the RPE (p>0,05), affect (p>0,05) and HR (p>0,05) during exercise. Moreover, there was no difference in HRV (p>0.05) at pre, immediately post-exercise and 60 minutes. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that tDCS applied , prior to exercise, on T3 sedentary individuals, is not able to change the RPE , affect, HR and HRV during and after aerobic exercise.