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Caffeine Improves Human’s Long-term Memory
Caffeine is a world wide psychoactive stimulant that is consumed by 75% of the human population worldwide. Portuguese Neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio, has been collaborating with Harvard Medical School (HMS) scientists to determine how long term consumption of caffeine affects the human brain’s memory. After 15 years of research on a man’s coffee consumption, Dr. Damasio has come to the conclusion that caffeine fortifies human memory, and helps inaugurate the brain’s memory system, known as the limbic system.
The study subject, known as Roger Leffasci, whose limbic system had been damaged in a car accident on December 8th, 1987 was given a minimum of 4, 8oz. cups of caffeine to determine the affects that it would have on his brain. Dr. Damasio conducted quarterly implicit-association tests (IAT) at HMS, which is able to detect the increase, or decrease of strength of the limbic system. After 4 years of caffeine consumption Roger’s brain had boosted the limbic system’s activity by 5%, as well as reduced 10% of the adenosine in his brain, which helped his brain to produce B-lymphocytes, helping form stronger memory cells.
On January 7, 2017 Dr. Damasio started a new study to use special designed concentrated caffeine pills, known as Cafeine Anhydre on 50 patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. These caffeine pills are to allow 10 of the 34 billion neurons in the human brain to strengthen the cortex in order to support the hippocampus, which is the portion of the brain that assists in forming new memories. This is a 10-year study that has high hopes for the 44 million people who suffer from Alzheimer’s worldwide.