Effects of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation on Intermuscular Coherence in WuShu Sprint and KAN-Based...

The aim of this study was to examine how transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) modulates intermuscular coherence (IMC) in sprinters and develop an interpretable neural network model for performance prediction.

Thirty elite sprinters completed a randomized crossover trial involving three tES conditions: motor cortex stimulation (C1/C2), prefrontal stimulation (F3), and sham. Sprint performance metrics (0-100 m phase analysis) and lower-limb sEMG signals were collected. A Kolmogorov-Arnold Network (KAN) was trained to decode neuromuscular coordination-sprint performance relationships using IMC and time-frequency sEMG features.

Motor cortex tDCS increased 30-60 m sprint velocity by 2.2% versus sham (p < 0.05, η² = 0.25). γ-band IMC in key muscle pairs (rectus femoris-biceps femoris, tibialis anterior-gastrocnemius) significantly heightened under motor cortex stimulation (F > 4.2, p < 0.03). The KAN model achieved high predictive accuracy (R² = 0.83) through cross-validation, with derived symbolic equations mapping neuromuscular features to performance.

Targeted tDCS enhances neuromuscular coordination and sprint velocity, while KAN provides a transparent framework for performance modeling in elite sports.