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Mohammadhossein Derakhshani 
, Mehdi Shahbazi * , Elaheh Arab Ameri , Shahzad Tahmasebi Boroujeni , Elham Hatami Shah Mir
, Mehdi Shahbazi * , Elaheh Arab Ameri , Shahzad Tahmasebi Boroujeni , Elham Hatami Shah Mir
Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. , shahbazimehdi@ut.ac.ir
Abstract: (15 Views)
Background: Psychological pressure can influence athletes’ decision-making by shifting attention and increasing concerns about performance and evaluation by others. Despite the growing use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in sports research, evidence regarding its effects on decision-making speed and accuracy in futsal players under different psychological pressure conditions remains limited.
Aims: This study investigated the effects of tDCS on decision-making speed and accuracy in skilled futsal players under different psychological pressure conditions.
Methods: A pretest–posttest controlled-group design was used. Twenty male futsal players aged 18–28 years, competing in the Premier League and having 3-5 years of league experience, voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the active tDCS or control (sham stimulation) group. Anodal tDCS was applied with the anode positioned over F3 and the cathode over F4 at 1 mA for 20 minutes. Following the intervention, decision-making speed and accuracy were assessed using a researcher-developed futsal-specific decision-making software under four conditions: pretest, neutral, outcome pressure, and monitoring pressure. Heart rate was also recorded as a secondary physiological measure throughout the experimental conditions.
Results: The mixed ANOVA showed a significant main effect of assessment condition on total response time, with response time decreasing under the outcome-pressure condition compared with pretest. However, neither the main effect of group nor the group × condition interaction was significant. For decision-making accuracy, significant main effects of assessment condition and group, as well as a significant group × condition interaction, were observed. Follow-up comparisons showed that decision-making accuracy in the tDCS group was higher under the neutral, outcome-pressure, and monitoring-pressure conditions than at pretest. In addition, a significant between-group difference was observed under the monitoring-pressure condition. Heart rate also increased significantly in both groups under the outcome-pressure and monitoring-pressure conditions compared with pretest.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that tDCS may improve athletes’ decision-making performance by increasing decision-making accuracy, particularly under monitoring pressure, and may be considered as a potential strategy for enhancing decision-making under pressure.
Aims: This study investigated the effects of tDCS on decision-making speed and accuracy in skilled futsal players under different psychological pressure conditions.
Methods: A pretest–posttest controlled-group design was used. Twenty male futsal players aged 18–28 years, competing in the Premier League and having 3-5 years of league experience, voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the active tDCS or control (sham stimulation) group. Anodal tDCS was applied with the anode positioned over F3 and the cathode over F4 at 1 mA for 20 minutes. Following the intervention, decision-making speed and accuracy were assessed using a researcher-developed futsal-specific decision-making software under four conditions: pretest, neutral, outcome pressure, and monitoring pressure. Heart rate was also recorded as a secondary physiological measure throughout the experimental conditions.
Results: The mixed ANOVA showed a significant main effect of assessment condition on total response time, with response time decreasing under the outcome-pressure condition compared with pretest. However, neither the main effect of group nor the group × condition interaction was significant. For decision-making accuracy, significant main effects of assessment condition and group, as well as a significant group × condition interaction, were observed. Follow-up comparisons showed that decision-making accuracy in the tDCS group was higher under the neutral, outcome-pressure, and monitoring-pressure conditions than at pretest. In addition, a significant between-group difference was observed under the monitoring-pressure condition. Heart rate also increased significantly in both groups under the outcome-pressure and monitoring-pressure conditions compared with pretest.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that tDCS may improve athletes’ decision-making performance by increasing decision-making accuracy, particularly under monitoring pressure, and may be considered as a potential strategy for enhancing decision-making under pressure.
Article number: 1
Keywords: transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), sports decision-making, psychological pressure, futsal, cognitive performance.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/07/11 | Accepted: 2026/05/22 | Published: 2026/08/23
Received: 2025/07/11 | Accepted: 2026/05/22 | Published: 2026/08/23
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)