Caffeine can enhance people’s memories

Coffee can enhance people’s memories at least 24 hours after it is consumed, according to a new study as quoted by media reports Monday. Caffeine is known for long as the energy boost for staying awake. Dr Michael Yassa, lead researcher and assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said,“caffeine’s particular effects on strengthening memories and making them resistant to forgetting has never been examined in detail in humans until now.”. In the study, more than 100 participants, who did not eat or drink caffeinated products often, were shown a series of images. Five minutes later, they were divided into two groups and received either a placebo or a 200-milligram caffeine tablet. The next day, they were shown some of the same images, plus similar ones and random new ones. Both groups correctly identified pictures as being new or old, yet those on caffeine were better at spotting the similar images, hence proving caffeine can boost memory function up to 24 hours after it is consumed. " The next step for us is to figure out the brain mechanisms underlying this enhancement. Caffeine is associated with healthy longevity and may have some protective effects from cognitive decline like Alzheimer's disease. These are certainly important questions for the future," Yassa said.