Research by Dr. Florian Koppelstaetter at the Medical University Innsbruck in 2005 showed that people who regularly drink coffee could just have the edge over non-coffee drinkers when it related to intelligence.
As a coffee lover, I have always wondered if caffeine has any other effects on the brain and to general health, aside the obvious ‘pick-me-up’ or kick that caffeine injects into my body every morning. But now I have the answer!
Dr. Koppelstaetter’s study took 15 male volunteers between the age of 26 and 45, all of whom had not touched either caffeine or nicotine for 48 hours prior to the study. So that they were free of any stimulants.
The first test was to be measured by MRI, which would measure brain activity. Half of the men in the first part of the study were given caffeine, the others a placebo. Higher electrical activity was noticed in two parts of the brain of the men who had ingested caffeine. The frontal lobe, which is responsible for short term memory showed more activity than the anterior cortex, which controls attention.
The second part of the test was measured by computer. This was measuring accuracy and reaction time. The volunteers were shown letters on a computer screen and then asked if they had seen the same letters which were shown on two screen before. Again, the caffeine volunteers showed better results, performing more efficiently with both accuracy and reaction times.
The tests were carried out again on the following day, this time the volunteers swapped roles – the results were identical. The men who had ingested caffeine, performed better and showed increased brain activity compared to the placebo takers!
So, can coffee make you smart? It would appear so, so all you connoisseurs can now say you are smarter than the tea drinkers!
Source – Innsbruck Medical University
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