Caffeine - How Does It Affect The Brain?
Author: Victoria Aly
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
Caffeine can strengthen the connections to regions in the brain responsible for processing information.
Caffeine accelerates processes in the brain, which leads to vitality, improved performance and overall tone.
Caffeine indirectly increases dopamine transmission . It acts as a neurotransmitter and hormone in processes in the brain. It is obtained by the synthesis of levodopa (3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine) and is associated with the body's metabolism.
A number of neurotransmitters such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (norepinephrine) are produced from dopamine .
This is one of the reasons that caffeine users cope much better with certain cognitive and mental tasks, explains the research team.
For the purpose of the study, 66 people took part, who took various tests. The participants are divided into two groups. 30 minutes before the start of the study, the first group was given a supplement in the form of a tablet containing about 200 mg of caffeine. This equates to two to three cups of coffee.
The other group was given placebo tablets.
The results showed that volunteers taking caffeine tablets performed much better on the tasks set by the researchers than the placebo group.
Caffeine can strengthen the links to regions in the brain responsible for processing information, the study said.
Researchers believe that caffeine in particular acts on the striatum in the basal ganglia, which helps process information and make decisions.
The results of the study are published in the online edition of PLoS ONE magazine .