Few people know that caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance across the globe. Not only is it in your favorite cup of joe, but it's also present in energy drinks and colas.
A recent study from researchers at the University of Basel suggests that regular caffeine consumption can change the gray matter of your brain. However, the effects may appear temporary.
How Caffeine Affects the Brain
Caffeine does help most of us stay alert. However, caffeine, especially when taken at night, can disrupt sleep patterns. Sleep deprivation, in turn, can affect the gray matter of your brain, as proven by previous studies.
A team of researchers led by Professor Christian Cajochen and Dr. Carolin Reichert from the University of Basel investigated whether sleep deprivation due to caffeine is the culprit in affecting the brain structure.
Findings showed that caffeine consumption did not result in poor sleep. On the other hand, researchers observed changes in the brain's gray matter. The study was reported in the journal Cerebral Cortex on February 15.
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What is the Brain's Gray Matter?
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the human brain is made of white matter and gray matter. But, gray matter plays a significant part in allowing us to function normally on a daily basis. Not only does it help process information, but it also processes signals generated by our sensory organs.
Gray matter constitutes the outermost layers of the brain that gets its gray tone from high concentrations of neuronal cell bodies.
Studying the Effects of Caffeine on the Brain Structure
The study involved 20 healthy young participants that regularly consume coffee on a daily basis. Participants were given tablets for two (caffeine tablets or placebo) 10-day periods and were asked to refrain from consuming other caffeine drinks during this time.
Researchers analyzed the participant's gray matter via brain scans. The team also investigated sleep quality in the sleep laboratory via recorded electrical activity in the brain.
Data shows that the depth of sleep of participants was equal regardless of whether they took caffeine or the placebo capsules. But saw a significant difference in the brain's gray matter depending on whether the participants received caffeine or the placebo.
After 10 days of caffeine abstinence due to placebo capsules, the volume of gray matter in participants was far greater than the same period of time with caffeine capsules.
Reichert says, "Our results do not necessarily mean that caffeine consumption has negative impacts on the brain. However, daily caffeine consumption affects our cognitive hardware, which in itself should give rise to further studies."
Researchers note that the changes in the brain's morphology seem to be temporary when comparing the reduction of gray matter volume in avid coffee drinkers and the after caffeine abstinence.
The difference was more striking in the right medial temporal lobe, including the brain's hippocampus, the region of the brain that is vital for memory consolidation.
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