Coffee and a Sweet Treat to Think Better? Caffeine & Glucose Combined Improves Brain Efficiency

[Elmore Furth]

Do you want a donut with that coffee?

The combination of caffeine and glucose can improve the efficiency of brain activity, according to a recent study in which functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify the neural substrate for the combined effects of these two substances.

"Our main finding is that the combination of the two substances improves cognitive performance in terms of sustained attention and working memory by increasing the efficiency of the areas of the brain responsible for these two functions," explains Josep M. Serra Grabulosa. This supports the idea of a synergistic effect between two substances, in which each one boosts the effect of the other.

Specifically, the team found that individuals who consumed caffeine and glucose in combination showed reduced brain activation associated with the task in the bilateral parietal cortex and the left prefrontal cortex -- two regions that actively participate in attention and working memory processes. The reduced activity and the fact that no drop in behavioural performance was observed during the task suggests that the brain is more efficient under the combined effect of the two substances, since it needs fewer resources to produce the same level of performance than required by those subjects who were administered the placebo or who took only caffeine or glucose.

An earlier study by the same research team on the effects of caffeine and glucose consumption revealed improvements in attention span and declarative memory without significant alteration of the participants' subjective state. The conclusions suggested that a combination of caffeine and glucose has beneficial effects on attention (sequential reaction time tasks) and learning and on the consolidation of verbal memory, none of which were observed when the substances were consumed separately.




Coffee and a Sweet Treat to Think Better? Caffeine and Glucose Combined Improves the Efficiency of Brain Activity

[pansypoo53219]

1. AHA! my breakfast coffee & cookies

IS the breakfast of champions.

homemade cookies. just made coconut shortbreads.

[Kookaburra]

2. Was thinking coffee and donuts, but

coconut shortbread sounds yum-yum-yummy.

[applegrove]

3. I used to drink coca cola to wake up in university. My roomates were agast.

I wasn't a coffee drinker till I had a job in a diner. And their coffee was wonderful (we put a pinch of salt on top of the coffee in the filter).

[Ernesto]

4. 40 years ago (When I was in college)

I would commonly eat a candy bar with coffee before an important test.