Evaluation of the Effect of Caffeine Consumption on Cognitive Functions by Electroencephalography

Year 2025, Volume: 15 Issue: 1, 57 - 65, 16.04.2025

Fatma Özlem , Aslı Zengin Türkmen , Gökçer Eskikurt , Aslı Ceren Macunluoglu , Asiye Nurten , Ayfer Dayi

https://doi.org/10.26650/experimed.1440182

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate cognitive performance and neurophysiological changes after caffeine consumption in individuals who regularly consume different amounts of caffeine.

Materials and Methods: Thirty-seven people aged 18-25 were divided into two groups according to their caffeine consumption as less than 3 mg/kg/day (low consumption group; LC) and more than 3 mg/kg/ day (high-consumption group; HC). Electroencephalography (EEG) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA) were performed in both groups (baseline records). One week later, caffeinated (Caff) and decaffeinated (Decaff) coffee were randomly given to LC and HC. Thus, four groups were formed (LC+Caff, LC+Decaff, HC+Caff and HC+Decaff). EEG was repeated one hour after coffee, and MoCA was performed within 20 minutes.

Results: In baseline eyes-opened EEG, the power of beta2 and delta were higher in the LC group than in the HC. After coffee consumption in the eyes-opened EEG, alpha1 and alpha2 power were significantly reduced in the HC+Caff. Following coffee consumption, the MoCA score increased significantly in the HC+Decaff and LC+Caff groups compared with the baseline.

Conclusion: Our study showed that low caffeine consumers had increased brain activity and cognitive performance post consumption high amounts of caffeine. However, this effect was less in high caffeine consumers. Therefore, caffeine habituation may alter the brain’s response to caffeine.

Keywords

Caffeine, Cognition, Electroencephalography

Ethical Statement

Permission was obtained from Dokuz Eylul University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee for the study (Permission Date 23.11.2020). File (2020/28-26).

References

• 1. Heckman MA, Well J, De Mejla EG. Çaffelne (1, 3, 7-trlmethylxanthlne) ln foods: a comprehenslve revlew on consumptlon, functlonallty, safety and regulatory matters. J Food Sel 2010; 75(3): 77-87. google scholar
• 2. Lane JD. Understandlng caffelne: a blobehavloral analysls. Health Educatlon & Behavlor. Sage publlcatlons INÇ: ÇA; 1999. p.141-43. google scholar
• 3. European Food Safety Authorlty. Sclentlfic oplnlon on the safety of caffelne. EFSA: 2015; 13(5): 17-21. google scholar
• 4. Çarter AJ, O’Çonnor WT, Çarter MJ, Ungerstedl U. Çaffelne enhances acetylchollne release ln the hlppocampus ln vlvo by a selectlve İnteractlon wlth adenoslne A1 receptors. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1995; 273(2): 637-42. google scholar
• 5. Shimamura AP. The cognitive science perspective. Handbook of Neuropsychology. Springer: New York; 1989.p.35-73. google scholar
• 6. Singh M, Sachdeva S. Cognitive assessment techniques. Int. J Inf Technol 2014; 7(2): 108-18. google scholar
• 7. Dabbabi T, Bouafif L. Cherif A. A review of non invasive methods of brain activity measurements via EEG signals analysis. IEEE International Conference on Advanced Systems and Emergent Technologies. Hammamet, Tunisia; 2023. pp.01-06. google scholar
• 8. Jadeja NM. Frequencies and Rhythms. In: How to read an EEG. Cambridge University Press; 2021. pp. 32-9. google scholar
• 9. Sigmon SC, Herming RI, Better W, Cadet JL Geiffits RB. Caffeine withdrawal, acute effects, tolerance, and absence of net beneficial effects of chronic administration: cerebral blood flow velocity, quantitative EEG and subjective effects. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2009; 204(4): 573-85. google scholar
• 10. Nasreddine ZS, Philips NA, Bedirian V, Charbonneau S, Whitehead V, Collin I et al. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005; 53(4): 695-9. google scholar
• 11. Sherman SM, Buckley TP, Baena E, Ryan L. Caffeine enhances memory performance in young adults during their non-optimal time of day. Front Psychology 2016; 14(7): 1764. google scholar
• 12. Trunk A, Stefanics G, Zentai N, Bacskay I, Felinger A, Thuroczy G et al. Effects of concurrent caffeine and mobile phone exposure on local target probability processing in the human brain. Sci Rep 2015; 23(5): 1-12. google scholar
• 13. Güngen C, Ertan T, Eker E, Yaşar R, Engin F. Reliability and validity of the standardized Mini Mental State Examination in the diagnosis of mild dementia in Turkish population. Turk Psikiyatri Derg 2002; 13(4): 273-81. google scholar
• 14. Ajjimaporn A, Noppongsakit P, Ramyarangsi P, Siripornpanich V, Chaunchaiyakul R. A low-dose of caffeine suppresses EEG alpha power and improves working memory in healthy university males. Physiol Behav 2022; 256: 113955. google scholar
• 15. Voiculescu M, Segarceanu A, Negutu M, Ghita I, Fulga I, Coman OA. The effect of caffeine on cerebral asymmetry in rats. J Med Life 2015; 8(4): 476-82. google scholar
• 16. Foxe JJ, Morie KP, Laud PJ, Rowson MJ, De Bruin EA, Kelly SP. Assessing the effects of caffeine and theanine on the maintenance of vigilance during a sustained attention task. Neuropharmacology 2012; 62(7): 2320-7. google scholar
• 17. Siepmann M, Kirch W. Effects of caffeine on topographic quantitative EEG. Neuropsychobiology 2002; 45(1): 161-6. google scholar
• 18. Engel, A. K, Fries, P. Beta-band oscillations-signalling the status quo. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2010; 20(2): 156-165. google scholar
• 19. Hasenfratz M, Battig K. Acute dose effect relationships of caffeine and mental performance, EEG, cardiovascular and subjective parameters. Psychopharmacol 1994; 114(2): 281-7. google scholar
• 20. Dimpfel W, Schober F, Spüler M. The influence of caffeine on human EEG under resting conditions and during mental loads. Clin Investig 1993; 71(3): 197-207. google scholar
• 21. Landolt HP, Dijk DJ, Gaus SE, Borbely AA. Caffeine reduces low-frequency delta activity in the human sleep EEG. Neuropsychopharmacology 1995; 12(3): 229-38. google scholar
• 22. Haskell CF, Kennedy DO, Wesnes KA Scholey AB. Cognitive and mood improvements of caffeine in habitual consumers and habitual non-consumers of caffeine. J Psychopharmacol 2005; 179(4): 813-25. google scholar
• 23. Shoulder RJ, Hall EE, Miller PC. The influence of exercise and caffeine on cognitive function in college students. Health 2016; 8(2): 156-62. google scholar
• 24. Zhang B, Liu Y, Wang X, Deng Y, Zheng X. Cognition and brain activation in response to various doses of caffeine: a near-infrared spectroscopy study. Front Psychol 2020; 11(2): 1-9. google scholar
• 25. Juliano LM, Griffiths RR. A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. Psychopharmacology 2004; 176(1): 1-29. google scholar
• 26. Wang C, Zhu Y, Dong C, Zhou Z, Zheng X. Effects of various doses of caffeine ingestion on intermittent exercise performance and cognition. Brain Sci 2020; 10(9): 1-12. google scholar