Dr Luca Angius

My research activity focuses on the cardiovascular and neurophysiological response during physical exercise. More precisely I investigated the impact of various diseases on group III/IV muscle afferents activity and how these diseases contribute to abnormalities of the cardiovascular response during exercise. Furthermore, I performed a series of experiment to study role of group III/IV muscle afferents in the development of central fatigue.

Recently, my research mainly focuses on the application of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to study how the central nervous system is involved in exercise regulation and in the development of exercise induced fatigue.

The main goal of my research is to understand the neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms causing fatigue during physical exercise and how this knowledge can be applied to improve the life quality of healthy adults and populations affected by cardiovascular and neurological disorders.

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Acute changes in motor unit behavior to fatiguing isometric contractions with blood flow restriction in healthy individuals, Angius, L., Hayman, O., Durbaba, R., Howatson, G., Goodall, S. 13 Feb 2026, In: Journal of Applied Physiology
• Ageing Does Not Impair Motor Neuron Adaptations: Comparable Motor Unit Responses to Strength Training in Young and Older Adults, Casolo, A., Del Vecchio, S., Goodlich, B., Schrader, B., Nuccio, S., Lecce, E., Bazzucchi, I., Angius, L., Felici, F., Schrader, J., Farina, D., Del Vecchio, A. 1 Apr 2026, In: The Journal of Physiology
• Motor unit adaptations contribute to the repeated bout effect following damaging resistance exercise, Hayman, O., Ansdell, P., Angius, L., Thomas, K., Howatson, G., Kidgell, D., Škarabot, J., Martinez-Valdes, E., Goodall, S. 12 Feb 2026, In: Journal of Applied Physiology
• Effect of simulated microgravity via head-down tilt on intracranial compliance, brain oscillations and cardiovascular autonomic modulation, Zambetta, R., Signini, É., Catai, A., Benelli, A., Angius, L., Ramos dos Santos, T., Michaliski, E., Barcellos de Oliveira, L., Ocamoto, G., Santarnecchi, E., Frigieri, G., Russo, T. 27 Nov 2025, In: Scientific Reports
• Exploring the psychophysiological mechanisms underlying the relationship between cognitive function and exercise performance, Angius, L., Staiano, W., Tempest, G. 12 Jun 2025, Sport and Exercise Psychophysiology, Cham, Switzerland, Springer
• Mitigating End‐Stage Fatigue: Acute Inhaled Salmeterol Preserves Sprint Power in Simulated Cycling, Merlini, M., Staiano, W., Angius, L., Romagnoli, M., Schena, F., Dickinson, J., Marcora, S. Nov 2025, In: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
• Reticulospinal function can be measured in the tibialis anterior using the StartReact method, Hayman, O., Atkinson, E., Ansdell, P., Angius, L., Thomas, K., Howatson, G., Kidgell, D., Škarabot, J., Goodall, S. 1 Jun 2025, In: Advanced Exercise and Health Science
• There Are No Differences in Startle Conditioned Cervicomedullary Motor Evoked Potentials Across Isometric, Concentric, and Eccentric Muscle Actions at the Same Absolute Force Output, Haigney, E., Atkinson, E., Ansdell, P., Vitório, R., Thomas, K., Goodall, S., Howatson, G., Angius, L., Kidgell, D., Spillane, P., Squires, E., Andrushko, J. 4 Aug 2025, In: European Journal of Neuroscience
• Anodal tDCS improves neuromuscular adaptations to short-term resistance training of the knee extensors in healthy individuals, Angius, L., Ansdell, P., Škarabot, J., Goodall, S., Thomas, K., Cowper, G., Santarnecchi, E., Kidgell, D., Howatson, G. 1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Neurophysiology
• Can transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the motor cortex increase endurance running performance? A randomized crossover-controlled trial, Martens , G., Hody , S., Bornheim , S., Angius, L., De Beaumont, L., Fregni , F., Ruffini , G., Kaux , J., Thibaut , A., Bury, T. 5 Dec 2024, In: PLoS One