Influence of caffeine on memory
According to Ahrens et al. (2007), caffeine is one of the most used substance in the world whereby in America alone, adults take coffee with caffeine ranging about 200-400 mg. For a long time caffeine has been thought to improve memory. However memory and how it is acquired and retained is complex (Myers, 2009). It is only through scientific studies that effects of caffeine can be conclusively known over time.
A study conducted by Ryan, Hatfield and Hofstetter (2002) undertook to find the effect of caffeine in human adults. The study consisted of 65 year olds who for a period of five to eleven days took either caffeine or decaffeinated coffee (Ryan et al. , 2002). The results showed that those who took caffeine did not have decreased memory later on in the day while those who took decaffeinated coffee showed decline in the memory (Ryan et al., 2002). This would indicate a positive effect of caffeine on memory.
A different research work was conducted by Angeluchi, Cesario, Rosalen and Da Cunha (2002) on rats, to find out the effects of caffeine on memory. In the research study, the researchers gave some dose of caffeine to the rats, before training, after training and before administering a test. According to Angelucci et al. (2002), rats which received caffeine before training did not show any improvement on memory while those rats which received caffeine after training shows improvement in memory. The rats which received caffeine before the testing also showed improvement in memory (Angeluchi et al., 2002). This would indicate that caffeine gives a boost to memory retention.
As a result Angeluchi et al. (2002) concluded therefore that caffeine improved memory retention. However it did not seem to improve memory acquisition. In yet another research, Mednick, Cai, Kanady and Drummond (2008) studied the effects of caffeine on memory by comparing it to a nap. In the study, the researchers allowed some of the participants to take an afternoon nap while another group remained awake and was given a dose of caffeine equal to a cup of coffee from Star bucks (Mednick et al., 2008). The participants were trained in the morning session.
After the nap the participants were tested on motor skills and word recall. According to Mednick et al. (2008), the group that took a nap performed much better than the group that took coffee, and in addition the group that received a placebo tablet also did better than those who took caffeine. The researchers concluded that caffeine influences the performance of explicit but not implicit information processing (Mednick et al., 2008). Those who took caffeine increased their level of acetylcholine which inhibited the access of new memory and thus declined overall memory (Mednich et al., 2008). This study would therefore indicate a negative effect of caffeine on memory.
The studies above indicate that caffeine does have an effect on memory. However, understanding the relationship between the memory and caffeine is still not clear. According to Ryan et al. (2002), it is difficult to assess the full effect of caffeine as there are other factors that can interfere with memory which may alter the results. As a result further discriminative studies are required to fully understand the effects of caffeine. According to Myers (2009) memory is affected by many factors. Age, health and other conditions can serve to improve memory of worsen it. It is for this reason that scientific studies should be conducted for reliable data.
One of the area that could be explored for study is if there is a lasting effect on memory from caffeine. One of the interesting points that Mednick et al.(2008) raises is that the long held association of caffeine and better performance may merely be attached to withdrawal (Mednick, et al., 2008). When persons who are used to taking caffeine do not have it, their memory declines. But when they have ingested it, their memory improves. The improvement may be what has been linked to overall better memory.
For the suggested study the hypothesis would be that caffeine withdrawal leads to decline in memory. For the study the independent variables would be participants in the study who are regular coffee drinkers. The dependent variable would be the effect on memory. Because of the possibility of effects of the withdrawal on the participants, they would be required to sign a consent form and clearance would need to be given by their physicians in addition to the the study seeking permission from the committee of Food research medical ethics.
The method used would be an eight days study of regular drinkers of coffee that has caffeine. The participants would be consuming at least five cups of coffee everyday prior to the study. The research would be done in two continuous studies. The number of participants would be twenty and for the first study, they would be given the amount of coffee they usually take every day and they would receive training every morning. However one half of the group would receive decaffeinated coffee in the afternoon hours before testing on what the participants learned in the morning session.
For the second study, the participants would all receive coffee for four days while continuing with the training and testing. This study would allow the researcher to notice if coffee withdrawal in the first four days causes significant decline in memory for those off coffee. In the second part of the study, the researcher would be able to see if having coffee once more would improve the memory of the participants who had withdrawn from coffee consumption. Data would be gathered for the two separate groups and analyzed to reveals the differences between the two groups as well as the differences for those individuals who undergo a period of caffeine withdrawal.
The training for the study would comprise of motor activities, recall visual perception and recall of words. The researchers would note the ability of every participant to recall the visual perception and/or words and also how accurately they performed the motor task of assembly a product. The statistics gathered would be individual number of words correctly recalled, the time taken to assemble the product and time consumed while doing it and the accuracy of visual perception. The statistics would also include other factors that might come up during the withdrawal period like the withdrawal symptoms that might interfere with participant’s ability to complete their tasks.
The results of the study would be relevant because they would indicate in a narrower way what the effects of caffeine are on memory. Because of the comparative nature of the study, it would show clearly how for the same individuals, caffeine affects memory. If there is a memory decline during the withdrawal period but memory improves after the withdrawal then it could be concluded that caffeine withdrawal negatively affects memory. However if there is no effect then it could be concluded that caffeine has not effect on memory. This knowledge would beneficial to the entire field of psychology and particularly to the topic of study.
Conclusion
Although there has been research conducted on the topic there is still room for additional research that will shed more light on the effects of caffeine on memory. The research examined here reveals that there is a relationship between caffeine and memory. The study by Ryan et al. (2002) indicated a positive effect of caffeine on memory. However the other studies show that caffeine did not impact memory positively. With more specific research the role of caffeine on memory can be better understood.
References
Ahrens, J. N., Crixell, S. H., Lloyd, L. K., and Walker, J. L. (2007). The physiological effects of
caffeine in women during treadmill walking. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 21 (1) pp. 164-168.
Angelucci, M. E., Cesario, R.H., Rosalen, P.l., and Da Cunha, C. Effects of caffeine on learning
and memory in rats tested in the Morris water maze. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. 35 (10) pp. 1201-1208.
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjmbr/v35n10/4559.pdf
Mednick, S.C., cai, D. J., Kanady, J. and Drummond, S. P. (2008). Comparing the benefits of
caffeine, naps and placebo on verbal, motor and perceptual memory. Behavioral Brain Research. 193 (1) pp. 79-86.
http://www.saramednick.com/htmls/pdfs/Mednick_BBR_08%5B8%5D.pdf
Myers, D. G. (2009). Exploring psychology. (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Ryan, L., Hatfield, C. and Hofstetter, M. (2002). Caffeine reduces time of day effects on memory
performance in older adults. Psychological Science. 13 (1) pp. 68-71. http://www.jstor.org/pss/40063698
