Does tDCS Enhance Complex Motor Skill Acquisition? Evidence from a Golf-Putting Task

TL;DR

This study found that practicing a complex motor skill like golf putting improves performance in novices, but tDCS over the motor or prefrontal cortex does not provide additional benefits.

Contribution

The study provides new evidence that tDCS may not enhance complex motor skill learning in novices, challenging its assumed benefits in such tasks.

Findings

Repeated practice of golf putting significantly improved performance in novices.

tDCS over the motor and prefrontal cortex did not enhance learning of the complex motor skill.

Performance improvements were consistent across all tDCS conditions and sessions.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Repeated practice of a complex motor skill (golf-putting) led to significant performance improvements in novice individuals, regardless of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) condition.tDCS over the motor and prefrontal cortex did not enhance performance in the learning of a complex motor skill (golf-putting) among novice individuals.

Repeated practice of a complex motor skill (golf-putting) led to significant performance improvements in novice individuals, regardless of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) condition.

tDCS over the motor and prefrontal cortex did not enhance performance in the learning of a complex motor skill (golf-putting) among novice individuals.

What is the implication of the main finding?
These findings suggest that motor practice alone can drive learning of complex motor skills in novices, and the role of tDCS may depend on task complexity and individual variability.This study contributes to a better understanding of how non-invasive brain stimulation interacts with full-body motor tasks, offering valuable insights for future sports neuroscience research.

These findings suggest that motor practice alone can drive learning of complex motor skills in novices, and the role of tDCS may depend on task complexity and individual variability.

This study contributes to a better understanding of how non-invasive brain stimulation interacts with full-body motor tasks, offering valuable insights for future sports neuroscience research.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) modulates cortical excitability, thus inducing improvements in motor learning of simple tasks. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of different tDCS conditions—anodal stimulation over the motor cortex (M1), anodal and cathodal stimulation over the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and sham—on the online and offline learning of a complex accuracy task (golf-putting) in novice golfers. Methods: A total of 40 young, healthy subjects (24 men, 16 women) without previous golf experience were randomly distributed in four groups receiving sham, anodal M1, anodal PFC or cathodal PFC tDCS. All subjects participated in two consecutive sessions. In the first session, they performed 15 blocks of 10 golf-putting along with tDCS stimulation. After 24 h, they performed the same task without tDCS. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant improvement in performance during the two consecutive golf-putting sessions regardless of the site and the stimulation conditions. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that tDCS over M1 or PFC does not confer additional benefits in the acquisition of complex, full-body motor skills such as golf-putting.

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