EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS

Effects of caffeine on cognitive functions

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EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS

Effects of caffeine on cognitive functions

Caffeine, which can be taken in the form of coffee, tea, energy drinks, soft drinks or caffeine

supplement pills is known to improve a person’s physical endurance, alertness, cognitive

functions, mood and perception of fatigue. At the same time there also exists a risk of

dehydration, head aches and anxiety if a person overdoses on caffeine. Caffeine if taken in the

right amount can provide the consumer with all the benefits and only mild or no side effects.

Cognitive performance and caffeine

Cognition is a psychological term that includes the processes of learning, memory and attention,

as well as perception, language, intelligence, and reasoning. Cognitive phenomena are essentially

internal psychological processes (Bushnell and Driscoll 2015). Cognitive functions of a human

can be effected by various toxins consumed by the person, through researches it has been

brought to attention that caffeine has the ability to improve a persons alertness, short term

memory, reaction time and verbal memory all of which comes under cognitive functions.

Caffeine is believed to impact on mood and performance by inhibiting the binding of both

adenosine and benzodiazepine receptor ligands to brain membranes. As these neurotransmitters

are known to slow down brain activity, a blockade of their receptors lessens this effect. Caffeine

intake also causes changes to a variety of other neurotransmitters, including noradrenaline,

dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (Fredholm 1999).

A research done by (kerr, Sherwood, and Hindmarch 1992) subjected 10 females with a high

dose of caffeine of 300 mg, post consumptions the participants were asked to attempt a choice

reaction task and it was found out that ingestion of caffeine significantly increased their

performance. However, in a similar study lead by Hindmarch it was found out, when the

participants were given a dose of 100mg it did not had any impact on their reaction time.
EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS

Slowing down of cognitive functions of a human body can also lead to neurodegenerative

diseases such as Alzheimer. Chronic treatment with caffeine has been shown to be effective in

preventing β-amyloid (Aβ) production and memory deficits in experimental models of

Alzheimer’s disease (Espinosa J 2013). Caffeine has also been found to have a role in the

prevention of motor symptoms and loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease.

Conclusion

After reviewing all the sources mentioned above it can be concluded that the range of caffeine

intake that could maximize benefit and minimize risk in relation to mood, cognitive function,

performance and hydration is 38 to 400 mg per day, equating to 1 to 8 cups of tea, or 0.3 to 4

cups of brewed coffee per day. Current levels of caffeine intake in the UK fall well within this

range, suggesting that risk, for example from dehydration, is likely to be minimal. Therefore,

when caffeine is taken in appropriate quantity it can be used as a cognitive enhancer and it would

not have adverse effect on the quality of life of the consumer.

Reference

(Bushnell and Driscoll 2015) Cognitive function link

(kerr, Sherwood, and Hindmarch 1992) Separate and combined effects of the social drugs on
psychomotor performance pp 113–119 link

(Espinosa J 2013) Caffeine consumption prevents memory impairment, neuronal damage, and
adenosine A2A receptors upregulation in the hippocampus of a rat model of sporadic dementia.
link