Your morning cup of coffee

Is it really an energy boost or just a placebo?

Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Could your morning cup of coffee be a placebo when it comes to boosting alertness and performance?

That may be the case, according to a new study that compared the effects of drinking coffee vs. consuming caffeine only.

Many people drink coffee first thing in the morning to overcome fatigue, stay alert and work effectively. Coffee contains various compounds that affect the brain in different ways. Caffeine is the most well-known of these compounds and is known to activate dopamine pathways that boost memory.

The study’s findings appear in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

While much is known about the neurochemical effects of coffee on the brain, less is understood about its psychological effects.

For example, some research shows that while coffee may affect cognitive performance in non-habitual drinkers, it has less effect on habitual drinkers as they develop a tolerance.

The same research suggests that a large part of coffee’s and caffeine’s invigorating effects may be explained via the reversal of withdrawal symptoms from short periods of abstinence.

Further research into how coffee affects the brain could improve understanding of what motivates people to drink it.

Recently, researchers compared fMRI data from habitual coffee drinkers before and after consuming coffee or caffeine.

They found that both coffee and caffeine caused changes in brain activity, decreasing “the connectivity of the default mode network.”

According to a press release, this suggests that consuming either caffeine or coffee helped people transition from resting to working on tasks.

However, researchers also found that other modes of activity are exclusively increased among coffee drinkers.

This may be due to the sensory experience of drinking coffee of other compounds present in coffee.

Dr. Antonio Teixeira, professor of psychiatry and director of the Neuropsychiatry Program at UTHealth Houston, not involved in the study, told Medical News Today: “The authors concluded that part of the common effects attributed to coffee might be related to mechanisms other than caffeine itself. Among these other mechanisms, they mention the whole experience of drinking coffee- that might involve some placebo effect, expectations, and even withdrawal, which were not investigated in the study.”

For the study, the researchers recruited 47 people who drank at least one cup of coffee per day. They were an average of 30 years old, and 31 were women.

All participants were asked to abstain from consuming caffeinated drinks or food for at least three hours before participating in the study.

Once in the lab, the participants underwent two fMRI scans: one before and one 30 minutes after taking caffeine or drinking a cup of coffee. During the fMRI scans, participants were asked to relax and let their minds wander.

Ultimately, the researchers found that both coffee and caffeine reduced functional connectivity, in the default mode network (DMN). The DMN is associated with “self-referential processes when participants are at rest” as noted by the authors.

The researchers noted that decreased DMN indicates higher preparedness to switch from resting to task-context processing.

They further noted that coffee consumption, but not caffeine consumption, significantly decreased connectivity between somatosensory and motor networks of the brain. The researchers wrote that this might explain why people report improved psychomotor efficiency after drinking caffeinated coffee.

Consumption of coffee, but not caffeine, also led to increased activity in executive control and visual networks implicated in visual processing.

Coffee consumption also led to better cognitive function, including improvements in: working memory, cognitive control, and goal-directed behavior.

Drinking coffee is a sensory experience

The researchers wrote that the differing effects of taking caffeine and drinking coffee may stem from the sensory experience of drinking coffee.

Armargo Couture, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Staten Island University Hospital, New York, not involved in the study, noted that the extra effects of drinking coffee may be explained via the placebo effect: “The placebo effect might work in this case due to the fact that culturally, drinking a cup of coffee before starting your day is the social norm. Essentially, many associate their “morning coffee” with “waking up” and preparing for the day ahead.”

Couture noted, however, that coffee’s extra effects may also arise from other compounds within.

“Components of coffee, such as terpenes — cafestol and kahweol, and polyphenols such as chlorogenic acids, interact with various brain receptors to increase energy, increase mood, and give us that motivated mindset. The terpenes and polyphenols in coffee have been researched and shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which has been associated with a lower risk of depression as well,” she added.

What does the study say about the benefits of drinking coffee?

“Drinking coffee increased subjects’ executive control which means coffee may benefit your mindset towards goals while improving your working memory and cognition,” Couture said.

“For those who have difficulty with executive dysfunction, drinking coffee may benefit you by increasing your motivation and working memory,” she added.

Dr. McGrath also noted that the results show that some of the benefits of drinking coffee come independently from caffeine. This, he noted, means that drinking decaffeinated coffee in the morning may also make people feel more alert and focused.

****

Source: Medical News Today