The effect of transcranial random noise stimulation on inhibitory control and post error responses in athletes and non-athletes

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) on inhibitory control and post error responses in Athletes and Non-athletes. Methods The sample comprised 32 male students. Among them, 16 were athletes, and the remaining 16 were non-athletes. In this study, there were two sessions of tRNS stimulation (both real and sham stimulation). The Stop Signal Task (SST) was used to measure response inhibition and post error slowing. All the participants performed the stop signal task at five sessions; before the first stimulation session (pre-test), after the real stimulation session, one day after the real stimulation, after the sham stimulation session, and one day after the sham stimulation session. To analyze parametric data, repeated measures analysis of variances test was utilized, whereas for non-parametric data analysis, Friedman, Wilcoxon, and U Mann-Whitney tests were employed. Results The findings indicated that there was no difference between the performance of athletes and non-athletes in response inhibition (P = 0.172) and post error slowing (P = 0.331). In both groups there was post error slowing (P < 0.001). The implementation of single-session tRNS stimulation did not yield any enhancement in response inhibition (P = 0.252) or post-error slowing (P = 0.729) in participants. Conclusions In conclusion, it is not recommended to utilize single-session protocols to enhance response inhibition and post-error slowing.