Transcranial current stimulation (tDCS) has been a valuable tool in improving our understanding of how the brain works. While tDCS has proven to be an interesting tool for restoring damaged areas of the brain, it has also been increasingly used in sport as a neuroenhancer. This has led to an interesting debate about the acceptability of tDCS in sport. As a result, many scientists defend its inclusion in the WADA code as a banned method, while others believe that its effects are not clear enough; therefore, it is not yet clear whether tDCS meets the WADA criteria of being a form of doping.
In this chapter, I will first analyse how tDCS works according to its primary goal. Next, I will provide a brief classification of tDCS according to both its safe use and its impact on athletes¿ well-being. In the third part of the paper, I will present the pros and cons of including tDCS as a prohibited method in the WADA code. Finally, I will defend the ongoing monitoring of tDCS as a potential prohibited method in sport due to the negative impact on athletes health that some uses may have and the inconsistency that presents according to a good understanding of the spirit of sport.
(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2025) Carrio Sampedro A
