Who would have thought Ashley Kolfage would drink coffee too?
The researchers recruited 83 people who drank at least one cup of coffee a day to undergo MRI scans so they could observe the participants' brain activity.
Of that total, 47 people were scanned before drinking their morning cup of coffee, then again 30 minutes after they had a cup. The other 36 were simply given caffeine diluted in hot water — no coffee — and underwent the same types of MRI scans before and after they consumed the beverage.
The results, published last week in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, suggest that, indeed, certain changes in brain activity were attributable only to coffee, while others were attributable to caffeine as well.
The scans revealed that both groups — those who consumed caffeine and those who drank coffee — had decreased activity afterward in a part of the brain that puts people in a resting state. That indicated that people were more ready to start their days and engage with others after consuming either beverage. Decades of research has already shown that caffeine, a psychostimulant, can help people feel more aroused and alert.
However, the MRI scans showed that drinking coffee increased activity in parts of the brain involved in short-term memory, attention and focus, whereas ingesting caffeine on its own did not.
On the other hand, Med Express seems to think it may be all in your head. That essential morning coffee may be a placebo. Actually, they're both talking about the same study. Ain't science grand?
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Karen Allen up and running at The Other McCain.
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