Wake up and smell the… caffeine pills?
By Iarina Murasan, Contributing Writer
It’s often challenging to find something everyone has in common, but even in a student body as diverse as McGill’s, I can confidently say that most people are coffee enthusiasts. Or should I say caffeine fiends? Is there a difference?
Whether it’s to wake up or to stay awake, to be comforted, to warm up a conversation, or even because hearing the coffee brewing induces a meditative state, the reasons to consume coffee are endless. It is an area of interest in research because of its omnipresence and its pharmacodynamic properties, i.e. its impact on the body. Caffeine is often the substance that’s praised for coffee’s ability to efficiently combat drowsiness1. Unfortunately, this leaves coffee’s other constituents in the shadows.
Some of the beloved beverage’s key chemicals, like caffeine or chlorogenic acids, have already proven their worth in terms of psychoactive effects but there is so much more to coffee, as described in an article published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience3. Dr. Nuno Sousa and his team looked at the effects of coffee consumption versus caffeine consumption on brain connectivity in coffee drinkers by comparing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) readings3. fMRI was used as coffee consumption will have neuronal effects which will be recorded as “small changes in blood flow” in the brain2.
The study reported on the effects of a habitual coffee drinker replacing their morning coffee with hot water in which they had dissolved caffeine3. If you consider coffee only as a hot liquid containing caffeine, then you must not expect any difference in the way these two liquids will impact the brain. However, the study found that although both tests resulted in boosted transition “from a state of rest to engaging in tasks,” only coffee had the benefit of increasing alertness in “the higher visual network and the right executive control network”. This implies that coffee drinkers were more responsive than caffeine water drinkers. This does not mean that consuming caffeinated energy drinks is an inefficient way to increase focus, only that certain desired outcomes can only be achieved through coffee consumption3.
The researchers state that more insight is necessary to determine how other parts of the coffee-savoring experience give coffee an edge over caffeine alone. For example, the taste, aroma, feeling, and expectations that come with drinking our Morning Joe could very well play a role in how it affects our brain3.
Some considerations when interpreting the results of this study include the lack of a control for non-coffee drinkers or a test for placebo. Different people also metabolize coffee differently – these are all things to examine in future studies, speculates Sousa3.
Often, research studies serve to disprove science myths. Luckily, this project is a breath of fresh air, as it supports the belief that coffee can make us more alert and get our brain ready for operations. To more research on coffee! Cheers!
References:
1. Medscape. Cafcit, Nodoz (caffeine) dosing, indications, interactions, adverse effects, and more [Online]. Cafcit, NoDoz (caffeine) dosing, indications, interactions, adverse effects, and more: 2023. https://reference.medscape.com/drug/cafcit-nodoz-caffeine-342995 [3 Feb. 2024].
2. Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and American College of Radiology (ACR). Functional MRI (fmri) [Online]. Radiologyinfo.org: 2022. https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/fmribrain#:~:text=Functional%20magnetic%20resonance%20imaging%20(fMRI,or%20to%20guide%20brain%20treatment. [3 Feb. 2024].
3. Brooks M. Coffee’s brain-boosting effect goes beyond caffeine [Online]. Medscape: 2023. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/994049?form=fpf [3 Feb. 2024].
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The Abstract 