Conclusion
HYPOXIC
The current study found that anodal tDCS targeting the left DLPFC, but not M1, provides an ergogenic boost to endurance performance and cognitive function in hypoxic conditions for the first time. Left DLPFC tDCS also increased EMG of the VM, lowered RPE, and increased affective responses and arousal during TTE. TTE performance in the DLPFC condition was (negatively) correlated only with RPE, implying that tDCS-induced performance enhancement is associated with a decrease in this variable. The current findings support the importance of the PFC, particularly the DLPFC, in exercise regulation and suggest that the responsiveness of different brain areas to tDCS may be affected by environmental stressors (in our case hypoxia-related stressors).