This is Your Brain on Caffeine

Image (c) Florin Garoi / SXC

Caffeine is often thought of as a good way to perk up your mental functioning. But do you really know what it does to your brain?

The effects of caffeine on the brain are quite complex, and some of the drug's effects are better understood than others. For example, we know some of the mechanisms by which caffeine increases the brain's excitability on a neural level. What is slightly more uncertain is whether or not caffeine really improves mental performance.

Some studies show that mental processing is, in fact, improved with the aid of caffeine intake, with some researchers even condoning the use of caffeine among workers to improve performance. Frankly, I find the idea of drugging the workforce to improve efficiency a bit Brave New World, but I'm as guilty as anyone of having that extra coffee to help me to meet a pressing deadline. It's different, somehow, when I choose to do it to myself versus employers doing it to squeeze more work out of their employees.

Then there are other studies which show that caffeine doesn't really improve functioning overall -- some mental processes get better while others get worse. The effects of caffeine on memory is a good example -- while some aspects of global memory seem to improve, caffeine has also been found to increase false memories, calling into question whether using caffeine to increase the work you do would result in your doing better work or just more work.

And one thing is for certain -- tiredness really impairs mental performance, so waking yourself up with caffeine isn't going to improve your performance if you are sleep deprived. You just have to bite the bullet and get more sleep.