A group of Scientists have shown in their studies
that coffee can perk up certain memories for at least, 24 hours after it is
consumed; Coffee doesn’t just perk you up but can give your memory a boost with
just one mug a day.
According
to the findings published in the journal, Nature Neuroscience, more than 100
people that took caffeine pills after a learning session had improved image
recall. A mug of coffee is equivalent to 200mg of caffeine pill, claimed
experts. The participants used for the study were divided into two groups, one
group was given caffeine Pills and the other, Placebo (substance
which contains no caffeine & has no effect). The participants had to
identify pictured objects as their outdoor or indoor items before taking the
pill or placebo five minutes later. Saliva samples were taken beforehand to
measure their caffeine levels and again one, three and 24 hours afterwards. The
next day, they were shown some of the same images plus similar ones and random
new ones. Both groups correctly identified pictures being new or old, but those
ones on caffeine were better at spotting the similar alternatives. Those who
received the placebo incorrectly identified these as the originals from the day
before. Caffeine enhanced consolidation of long-term memories, affirmed
Dr. Michael Yassa of the University of California.
Researchers
further said that, caffeine has cognitive enhancing effects, but its particular
effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting has
never been examined in detail in humans. The brain’s ability to recognize the
difference between two similar items reflects a deeper level of memory retention.
Dr. Michael added, “If we used a standard recognition memory task without these
tricky similar items, we would have found no effect of caffeine. However, using
those items requires the brain to make a more difficult discrimination, what we
call pattern separation, which seems to be the process enhanced by the
caffeine”.
The
research is different from earlier experiments that found caffeine had little
or no effect on long –term memory because the subjects took the caffeine only
after they had viewed and tried to memorize the images.
Dr.
Michael said, “Almost all prior studies administered caffeine before the study
session, so if there is an enhancement, it is not clear if is due to caffeine’s
effect on attention, vigilance, focus or other factors. By administering
caffeine after the experiment, we rule out these effects and make sure if there
is an enhancement, it is due to memory and nothing else”. The caffeine induced
improvement was not seen with smaller doses of caffeine or when it was given an
hour before viewing the image.