Enhancing pressurized esports performance: a pilot study on the combined effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and arousal reappraisal

Abstract

Background and Objectives: This pilot study explored the combined impact of arousal reappraisal intervention and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) on state anxiety, challenge and threat appraisals, and performance under high pressure in esport contexts. Arousal reappraisal has previously been shown to enable individuals to interpret physiological arousal more constructively, while tDCS has demonstrated potential to increase the efficacy of psychological interventions. Design: A fully repeated measures study design was employed where participants experienced four different experimental interventions: tDCS with arousal reappraisal, tDCS with active control, sham stimulation with arousal reappraisal, and sham stimulation with active control. Methods: Seventeen male Counter-Strike competitors participated in the study. Each participant received all four experimental intervention conditions, with measurements taken of state anxiety, challenge and threat appraisals, and esport performance under pressure. Results: The findings tentatively suggest that arousal reappraisal effectively reduces cognitive anxiety, promotes favourable challenge appraisals versus threat, and enhances esports performance. This effect appeared more pronounced when arousal reappraisal was combined with anodal tDCS. Conclusions: Combining arousal reappraisal and tDCS may be a promising intervention for esports competitors facing performance pressure. The synergistic effects of these interventions warrant further investigation in larger samples.