A research study by Portuguese scientists exposes that drinking coffee activates brain locations associated with awareness, working memory, and goal-directed habits, more than plain caffeine. This recommends that the distinct benefits of coffee might extend beyond its caffeine material, potentially connected to the experience of drinking it or withdrawal symptom relief.
Researchers discover that the boost you obtain from a morning coffee cant be replicated with plain caffeine.
Researchers evaluating coffee versus plain caffeine found that plain caffeine only partly replicates the results of consuming a cup of coffee, activating areas of the brain that make you feel more alert but not the locations of the brain that impact working memory and goal-directed habits.
For many individuals, the day doesnt start up until their coffee mug is empty. Coffee is frequently thought to make you feel more alert, so people drink it to wake themselves up and enhance their performance. Portuguese scientists studied coffee drinkers to comprehend whether that wakefulness effect depends on the properties of caffeine, or whether its about the experience of drinking coffee.
Portuguese researchers studied coffee drinkers to comprehend whether that wakefulness result is dependent on the homes of caffeine, or whether its about the experience of drinking coffee.
The researchers hired people who consumed a minimum of one cup of coffee per day and asked them to refrain from eating or consuming caffeinated beverages for at least 3 hours before the research study. They interviewed the participants to collect sociodemographic information, and then did two quick functional MRI scans: one before and one 30 minutes after either taking caffeine or consuming a standardized cup of coffee. In other words, if you want to feel not just alert however ready to go, caffeine alone wont do– you need to experience that cup of coffee.
“The functional connectivity was likewise reduced between the somatosensory/motor networks and the prefrontal cortex, while the connection in areas of the greater visual and the right executive control network was increased after consuming coffee.
” There is a common expectation that coffee increases alertness and psychomotor performance,” said Prof Nuno Sousa of the University of Minho, matching author of the study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience and Field Chief Editor of the journal. “When you get to comprehend much better the mechanisms underlying a biological phenomenon, you open paths for exploring the aspects that may modulate it and even the possible advantages of that system.”
A caffeine kickstart
The scientists recruited people who drank a minimum of one cup of coffee per day and asked to refrain from consuming or drinking caffeinated beverages for a minimum of three hours before the research study. They interviewed the participants to collect sociodemographic information, and then did 2 brief practical MRI scans: one before and one 30 minutes after either taking caffeine or drinking a standardized cup of coffee. During the functional MRI scans, the participants were asked to unwind and let their minds roam.
Because of the known neurochemical effects of drinking coffee, the researchers expected that the practical MRI scans would reveal that individuals who consumed coffee had higher integration of networks that are connected to the prefrontal cortex, related to executive memory, and the default mode network, involved in introspection and self-reflection procedures. They found that the connection of the default mode network was decreased both after drinking coffee and after taking caffeine, which shows that taking in either caffeine or coffee made individuals more prepared to move from resting to dealing with tasks.
Awakening on the right side of the bed
However, drinking coffee likewise increased the connectivity in the greater visual network and the right executive control network– parts of the brain that are associated with working memory, cognitive control, and goal-directed habits. This didnt occur when participants only took caffeine. In other words, if you wish to feel not just alert but all set to go, caffeine alone will not do– you need to experience that cup of coffee.
” Acute coffee consumption decreased the practical connection between brain regions of the default mode network, a network that is connected with self-referential procedures when participants are at rest,” said Dr. Maria Picó-Pérez of Jaume I University, first author. “The practical connectivity was also reduced in between the somatosensory/motor networks and the prefrontal cortex, while the connection in areas of the greater visual and the right executive control network was increased after consuming coffee. In basic words, the topics were more ready for action and alert to external stimuli after having coffee.”
” Taking into account that a few of the effects that we discovered were reproduced by caffeine, we could expect other caffeinated beverages to share a few of the effects,” included Picó-Pérez. “However, others were particular for coffee drinking, driven by factors such as the specific smell and taste of the beverage, or the mental expectation connected with consuming that beverage.”
The authors explained that it is possible that the experience of drinking coffee without caffeine might cause these benefits: this study might not distinguish the results of the experience alone from the experience integrated with the caffeine. There is also a hypothesis that the benefits coffee drinkers declare might be due to the relief of withdrawal symptoms, which this research study did not test.
” The modifications in connection were studied throughout a resting-state sequence. Any association with mental and cognitive processes is interpreted based upon the typical function credited the networks and areas discovered, but it was not directly checked,” warned Sousa. “Moreover, there might be individual differences in the metabolic process of caffeine amongst participants that would be intriguing to check out in the future.”
Reference: “Coffee usage decreases the connection of the posterior Default Mode Network (DMN) at rest” by Maria Picó-Pérez, Ricardo Magalhães, Madalena Esteves, Rita Vieira, Teresa C. Castanho, Liliana Amorim, Mafalda Sousa, Ana Coelho, Pedro S. Moreira, Rodrigo A. Cunha and Nuno Sousa, 28 June 2023, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.DOI: 10.3389/ fnbeh.2023.1176382.
Financing: Institute for the Scientific Information on Coffee, Northern Portugal Regional Operational Program.