A study conducted in Thailand using electroencephalography (EEG) and cognitive tests
The authors of the new work examined whether one influenceslow dose of caffeine as a morning drink on brain wave activity and cognitive function. Thai scientists conducted an experiment on 25 healthy young men (average age 21 years) who typically consumed 1-2 or fewer cups of caffeinated coffee or tea or 1 can of caffeinated soda per day.
Participants were randomly assignedinto two groups and conducted a blind experiment with placebo. The subjects visited the laboratory three times. At the first visit, the researchers measured various parameters—weight, height, body fat percentage, and other indicators. The experiment was carried out during the second visit. Brain activity was measured for 5 minutes in a resting state in a sitting position with eyes closed using EEG. Subsequently, participants completed two tests of cognitive function.
Afterwards, each participant drank his own cup.flavored water with or without caffeine (50 mg), depending on the group. After 30 minutes, the subjects again had their brain activity measured and completed cognitive tests. This was followed by 5 minutes of exercise and then another session of EEG and cognitive testing. A week later, the whole procedure was repeated, with the only difference that the groups swapped places.
The results showed that 30 minutes afterAfter drinking caffeine, the average absolute power of alpha waves decreases. Participants who took the placebo showed delta, beta and theta wave activity. Cognitive function, that is, visuomotor processing speed, working memory and attention, improved after 30 minutes of caffeine consumption and after 35 minutes, which included 5 minutes of isokinetic exercise. In other words, brain activity responsible for sleepiness decreased and cognitive function improved 30 minutes after taking 50 mg of caffeine. This dose is almost the same as one cup of espresso.
Notably, this is the first study to find an inverse correlation between alpha wave activity and cognitive function after a single low dose of caffeine.
The study did not measure other aspectscognitive functions such as problem solving and decision making. And, since the subjects this time were only men, in the future the experiment will be conducted taking into account gender differences.
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Cover photo: Zacharias Korsalka