Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 PhD student in the Department of Movement Behavior, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
2 shahid Beheshti University, department of cognitive and behavioral sciences and technology in sport
3 Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department, Shahid Beheshti University
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on attention networks and wheelchair basketball free throw. The study used a semi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The participants included 20 male wheelchair basketball athletes who were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group.
The experimental group received four sessions of tDCS stimulation on the left DorsoLateral PreFrontal Cortex (DLPFC), while the control group received sham stimulation. The efficiency of attention networks, including the components of Alerting, Orienting, and executive control, was measured using the Attention Network Test (ANT). The performance in wheelchair basketball free throw was also assessed.
The data was analyzed using composite variance analysis. The results showed that compared to the control group, the experimental group had significant improvements in the alerting and executive control components of attention networks after tDCS stimulation. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the free throw performance between the experimental and control groups, indicating the positive effect of tDCS stimulation on free throw execution in wheelchair basketball athletes.
This study suggests that tDCS stimulation can be used as a non-invasive method to improve executive functions of attention and enhance sports performance in wheelchair basketball athletes. The method is time-efficient and can be easily incorporated into the athletes' free time or rest periods.
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