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Researchers from the University of Basel have shown in a recent study that regular consumption of caffeine can alter the gray matter of the brain. However, the effect appears to be temporary.
While caffeine helps most of us feel more alert, it can interfere with our sleep if taken at night. And sleep deprivation can in turn affect the gray matter of the brain, as previous studies have shown.
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A research team led by Dr Caroline Reichert and Professor Christian Caguchin of the University of Basel and the University of Basel Psychiatric Hospital (UPK) investigated whether regular consumption of caffeine could affect the structure of the brain due to lack of sleep, in the study.
The result was surprising: The caffeine consumption as part of the study did not lead to decreased sleep, however, the researchers noted changes in gray matter, as they report in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
Gray matter refers to parts of the central nervous system that are primarily made up of the cell bodies of neurons, while white matter is primarily made up of neural pathways, which are the long extensions of nerve cells.
A group of 20 healthy young men participated in the study, all of whom regularly drink coffee on a daily basis. They were given tablets to consume for 10 days and told not to consume any more caffeine during that time.
The trial consisted of two periods, the first where participants took three caffeine tablets per day, while the other period included a placebo pill.
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At the end of the full 10-day period, the researchers looked at the gray matter volume of the people who had a brain scan. They also looked at participants’ sleep quality in a sleep lab by recording brain electrical activity (EEG).
A comparison of the data found that participants’ sleep depth was equal whether they consumed caffeine or placebo capsules. But they saw a significant difference in gray matter, depending on whether the person had been given caffeine or a placebo. After 10 days of placebo, that is to say “abstain from caffeine”, the volume of gray matter was greater than it was after the same period of use of the caffeine capsules.
The difference was particularly striking in the right temporal lobe, including the hippocampus, an area of the brain necessary for memory consolidation. “Our results don’t necessarily mean that caffeine consumption has a negative effect on the brain. However, it is clear that daily caffeine consumption affects our cognitive systems, which in itself should lead to more studies, ”said Dr Reichert. In the past, she adds, the health effects of caffeine have primarily been studied in patients, but there is a need for research in health topics as well.
Although caffeine appeared to reduce the volume of gray matter, after just 10 days of abstaining from coffee, it significantly rejuvenated in the test subjects.
“It appears that the changes in brain morphology are temporary, but systematic comparisons between coffee drinkers and those who consume little or no caffeine have been nonexistent so far,” Richert said.
Source: Science Daily
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