Neurodoping: Brain stimulation as a performance-enhancing measure

Abstract

Doping may be defined, broadly, as the use of unauthorised means to increase performance in sport. Doping is most commonly associated with the use of drugs. In this paper, I discuss the use of emerging techniques for the modulation of brain activity in healthy people using electric or magnetic fields, and suggest how they might be used to enhance physical and mental performance in sports. I will suggest that neurodoping may have different uses in different sports, and I argue that each sport must determine whether neurodoping should be considered as cheating, or should be considered a legitimate aid to training or performance. © 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.