I have been an avid coffee drinker for quite sometime—every morning I go to my local Starbucks and pick up a cup of coffee. Caffeine is the energy booster that people choose when they need to be awake; whether it is tea, coffee, or soda. After reading Chapter 1 of our textbook, Cognitive Psychology, I became very curious about the phenomenon of memory consolidation. Memory consolidation is “the process in which experiences or information that has entered the memory system becomes strengthened and resistant to interference caused by other events or trauma” (Goldstein, 2011). I also wondered about what effects memory consolidation and retention, as well as how to improve it. A new study suggests that caffeine can “sharpen” our memory, increase our awareness, as well as boost our long-term memory (Gatlin, 2014). This study is one of the first of its kind to determine the effects of caffeine on memory.
John Hopkins University researchers conducted a double-blind trial that had participants take either a 200mg caffeine pill (equivalent to a cup of coffee) or a placebo pill. When consumed shortly after a “learning session,” it enhanced image recognition and recall. At the “learning session” participants were shown several images. The following day participants were showed the images from the previous day, as well as new images. John Hopkins researchers wanted to test pattern separation, which if the brain’s ability to differentiate similar images. Pattern separation is also an indicator of long-term memory retention.
The participants who took the caffeine dosage during the “learning session” were able to recognize the images more successfully, than those who were given the placebo. Dr. Michael Yassa, University of California, Irvine, said, “Caffeine enhanced consolidation of long-term memories” (Gatlin, 2014). On the other hand, high doses of caffeine can have negative effects: such as headaches, nausea, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and you don’t get the benefits of memory enhancement! The ideal dosage of caffeine to experience memory benefits is about 200 mg of caffeine (Gatlin, 2014).
Memory consolidation begins on the synaptic level, which is where the brain creates new pathways for information (Goldstein, 2011). The “neural map” can take days, weeks, months or years to be made—it allows for memories to be retrieved when needed. The entire process of memory recognition helps to strengthen information in the long-term memory” (Goldstein, 2011). Coffee helps to enhance and speed up this process.
While reading this article a few days ago I enjoyed a cup of coffee. I think that I retained the information much better because I was alert and focused, which in turn improved my memory consolidation. According to the FDA, about 80% of Americans consume 200mg, or one cup of coffee, per day—the same amount as this study (Borota, Murray, Keceli, Chang, Watabe, Ly, Toscano & Yassa, 2014). Now we have an excuse to drink more coffee.
Sources:
Borota, D., Murray, E., Keceli, G., Chang, A., Watabe, J., Ly, M., Toscano, J., & Yassa, M. (2014). Post-study caffeine administration enhances memory consolidation in humans. Nature Publishing Group, 17(2), 201-203. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn.3623
Gatlin, L. (2014, January 12). Caffeine has positive effect on memory, johns hopkins researchers say. Retrieved from http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/01/12/caffeine-enhances-memory
Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)
Kristensen, L. (2010). Coffee [Online image].
Retrieved January 31, 2014 from https://www.shutterstock.com
This was very interesting information! And good news coming from a fellow coffee drinker! I, like many Americans, need my cup of coffee in the morning before I can work efficiently. On the occasional morning that I don’t have coffee, I find that I do not perform as well at work. I am more sluggish, tired, and just can’t focus in general. I believe this leads to a decrease in memory, because I am not engaged enough in the task to recall details about it later. I believe that the memory increase seen with caffeine is due to the increase in attention while learning. As we learned in our textbook, there is a process information goes through to be remembered. First, we must direct our attention towards a stimuli. It then enters the short-term/working memory. If information is rehearsed or recalled often, it becomes coded into long-term memory (Goldstein, 2011). If we are more alert (due to caffeine) while we are engaged in learning a task or completing a project, we are more likely to focus our attention better and increase our memory for that task.
Reference:
Goldstein, E.B. (2011). Cognitive psychology. (3rd ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
It is amazing what caffeine can do for us. This was a very fascinating blog. I am a tea addict especially green tea. Lately I have noticed that tea is not really helping. Perhaps this is the reason why I am having a hard time remembering things. After reading your blog and another article I found on caffeine’s effects on memory, I think maybe I should switch to coffee. Tea only has about 42 milligrams of caffeine as compared to coffee with 200 milligrams. I think I will make a change and see if I notice any differences in alertness. I know when I am tired and drink tea I feel more awake. According to this article I found there is a difference in how much caffeine we consume. We need at least 200 milligrams to have an effect on our memory. The article states that 100 milligrams doesn’t have the same effect as 200 milligrams. I found that very interesting. I never thought the amount of caffeine made a difference. I just thought that caffeine itself helped with memory consolidation, retention, and recognition. You are right, we do have an excuse to drink more coffee.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/13/caffeine-boosts-memory/4457591/
Hi Allison, It was interesting to read about the positive effects caffeine can have on long term memory. I too have been an avid coffee drinker for a very long time; I come from a family whose gatherings always included coffee, so I started drinking coffee at a young age. I do drink a little more than 200 mg of coffee a day if I do not have coffee early in the morning I cannot function I think one calls this caffeine dependence which can probably have negative effects like you mentioned, as it is said anything in excess is not good, my husband “on the other hand” does not drink coffee and is always reminding me of the negative effects coffee can have on one’s body. It was a positive note to read about how caffeine can increase memory consolidation, retention, and recognition, I definitely feel the caffeine has always kept me alert and perceptive of what is happening around me, but even more interesting that can help consolidate information in one’s long term memory is good news, I found an interesting article on other positive effects coffee can have. http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-10-2013/coffee-for-health.2.html