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Caffeine Good For Long-Term Memory

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wed Oct 13, 1999 11:01 AM
from the nnoott-eennoouugghh-ccaaffiieennee dept.
Science
Keith Gabryelski writes "an article entitled "Caffeine Causes Changes In Brain Cells" at Planet Rx " So it makes your brain get bigger while it makes your testicles get smaller. I guess that proves that matter can't be created or destroyed.
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  • Lumps?!!!

    Crap, I just brewed a pot of Swiss Chocolate Almond, and now I'm feeling myself for lumps.

    Wanna know the mystical secrets of caffiene? Come check out JavaScopes [holophrastic.com].

    The Divine Creatrix in a Mortal Shell that stays Crunchy in Milk
  • It's ESPRESSO, not expresso. Expresso isn't even a real drink. Get it right!

    ESPRESSO
    ESPRESSO
    ESPRESSO
    ESPRESSO
    ESPRESSO
    ESPRESSO!!!

    (Hmmm. Maybe I've had one too many cuppacinos....)
  • With all this research into the beneficial nature of caffeine, I'm surprised that the vitamin nuts haven't gone all bozo. Every time someone announces a study that shows that some off-the-shelf drug store quackery is good at something-or-other, about 50 people write full length novels on the wonders of the stuff, GNC turns a tidy profit, and Michael Jordan does TV spots hawking the extra-overpriced blister pack'd brand.

    I'm glad this hasn't been the fate of caffeine. It keeps me awake and that's all I ask. But it doesn't stop there. Through the magik of Slashdot, I found out that not only does it increase my tolerance to ionizing radiation, but it makes me smarter.

    Good timing, guys. I have an exam at 4pm and I'm cramming now. To the coffee stand for a double latte!
  • The second derivative of f(x) is:18x-sinx*cot4x-5 +2cosx*(-4-4cot(4x-5)^2-8sinx*cot4x-5*-4-4cot(4x-5 )^2
  • It said that the results were inconclusive, and that more research needs to be done.

    duh.

    The only tempting thing it did say was that it lengthened the dendrites, but... is that good or bad? it also said the dendrites collapse if grown too quickly. ooopps.
  • oz, gallon, doublequart.....

    WHEN will you guys learn how to use SI [www.bipm.fr], just as the rest of the world (Europe!)

    FWIW, I drink 2 litres of coffee a day.

  • Girls do the opposite (Score:3)

    by Sloppy (14984) on Wednesday October 13 1999, @09:54AM (#1616167) Homepage Journal

    So [caffeine] makes your brain get bigger while it makes your testicles get smaller.


    What about girls?

    Girls make your brain get smaller and certain other parts get bigger.

    And after a withdrawal and recovery period, the brain grows back a little, and we suddenly wonder: "What the hell was I thinking?!" We utter oaths to forsake them forever, but it is just as empty a bluff as you'll hear from a recoving heroin or nicotine addict.


    ---

  • Caffeine may help long term memory but... (Score:4)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 13 1999, @10:03AM (#1616168)
    Studies have also shown that when you learn while affected by a mind-altering substance, you remember those things better when also on that same substance. (The study I read was actually conducted with caffeine as the substance, and it was from a suitemate's psychology book, im afraid I cant get the name of it). So... If you have an early class and always drink a cup of coffee while there, you better have one when you take the final, even if its at 2 in the afternoon.
  • Hmm.. Caffeine Good For Long-Term Memory ?
    That's funny, because according to the article: "The implications for long-term memory and learning are not yet clear." Interjecting your bias into a story like this might seem trivial and make for a good shrinking testical joke, but it's very bad journalism.
  • Cmdr. Taco is reporting his personal experience with caffeine, YMMV
  • It's all in the balance of neurotransmitters. Being profoundly ADHD and having mastered my condition has lead to a lot of insight into what I can do to keep myself from driving everyone around me bonkers. Caffeine and other stimulants trigger the release of neurotransmitter regulators. These regulators have mainly to do with the reuptake of serotonin and dopamine (among other compounds). Exercise, diet, and meditation can play a very large part in the "normalization" of the ADD/ADHD person.

    For the ADD/ADHD person the non-standard (not sub-standard) levels of these are seen through inability to focus and/or inappropriate behavior. Generally 4 approaches are used to "normalize" the person's existence. (1) medication (perferably short term) to provide the chemical support while other coping skills are acquired, (2, 3) adjustments to exercise and dietary routines, and (3) basic meditation skills. (Read up on things like trancendentalism and shamanism. These will not attempt to replace your preferred religeous system but will make your experience of it more meaningful to you.)

    Still, nothing beats going off your meds for a weekend of rock concerts and video games!

    --

  • >So it makes your brain get bigger while it makes your testicles get smaller.


    It'd be interesting to see what everyone would choose if they had to pick one or the other. Rob- How about a poll?

    Cynic
    kynik@gh0st.net
    fire.gh0st.net/napalm/
  • my record was 192 oz in 25 hours; if anyone else has beaten that I'd like to hear about it.

    288oz of Surge in 24 hours. Dunno how that stacks up to 192 of coffee ( assume that's what you were chugging) but I got you beat for pure volume.

    Kintanon

  • Americans should be geniuses when it comes to recall!!! I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but in the ingredients to regular pepsi, caffiene actully comes before the flavoring. I shouln't ever forget anything, ever, mwahaha.


    They are, it's jut misused. Find an average american teen, ask them the plot of 90210 (or whatever the latest lame teen drama is) from the first episode on. You get a perfect replay. Pick a sports guy, ask them the batting average of every american league player in 1983, no problem. Americans remember all kinds of arcane things.

    Kintanon
  • However, it never makes me feel "wired" and I don't feel tired if I don't have it. I can drink a liter of Pepsi and go straight to bed with no trouble, either. I don't consume an abnormally large amount either, during a typical day, I'll probably have 2 cans of Coke/Pepsi at work, and maybe another one with lunch, that's it. It doesn't bother me to have none during the day, if anything, the sugar in a non-caffeinated soda makes me feel just as good as a caffeinated one.



    This happens to me on a 6 month cycle. So I go off caffeine, drink nothing but water for a month, and then get back on caffeine. BLAMMO! One can of surge will wire me all weekend!!!
    Caffeine is THE most tolerable drug, to better phrase that, most people will build up a huge tolerance to caffeine very quickly, hence needing more and more for the same affect. So cyclicle intake can reduce the amount of caffeine you need to get a buzz.

    Kintanon

  • Caffeine (Score:3)

    by jd (1658) <imipak.yahoo@com> on Wednesday October 13 1999, @06:06AM (#1616194) Homepage Journal
    For a substance that's supposed to be benign, it certainly does a lot. As well as whatever this lot are claiming, it puts ADHD people to sleep (it works in reverse for them), it triggers severe mood swings in Bipolar folk, and it deludes Urban Legend people into thinking Coke contains, well, coke. :)

  • Actually, it just improves your trivia memory (Score:3)

    by handorf (29768) on Wednesday October 13 1999, @06:07AM (#1616196)
    which is why I know why the Titanic's center propeller was smaller, and the difference between soldering, brazing and welding, and the maximum theoretical efficiency for a heat engine, and...

    Now... Where'd I leave my keys?
  • I have a horrible memory, but I've got huge, uh... er... what was I saying?

    --
  • Then I'm guessing that ADD/ADHD people (like me) have some really wierd brain chemistry, because Ritilin, which allows me to concentrate, is actually Methylphenidate, which is a close relative of speed.
    So caffine knocks me out, and speed calms me down. Could someone please explain this to me?

  • Re:and in other drugs... (Score:3)

    by georgeha (43752) on Wednesday October 13 1999, @06:36AM (#1616212) Homepage
    I guess this explains the retention of memories in the face of my extreme cannabis intake...

    I thought loss of short term memory with cannabis was more of a myth. In fact, I almost think I remember reading it one night on the web, I can't remember the url, but the top graphic was nearly the same color as a lucite bong I used to use.

    George
  • Not freaky, just different.

    Imagine your system board working at 200MHz and your video working at 166MHz. You get skips and jumps in the video due to the difference. Give the system more to do with those extra cycles and everything settles down for a nice user experience.

    --

  • Wow.. I drink at least three cups of coffee a day, along with 3-4 cans of Coca Cola. I eat like a horse. I HAVE to eat breakfast, or else I'm starving by 11:30 AM. Even with breakfast, I must eat a full sized lunch or by 6 PM, my stomach growls so loudly it's louder than my voice! And I've been doing this for most of ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H all of my adult life.
  • I c-c-can f-f-feelmymemory improving already-ready!!

    super-super-humandosesof p-p-pure brainjuice! Ifitake just a a a littlebit m-more i think illhavetelekinetic p-p-powers!!

    L-l-lookout!!
  • With apologies to Frank Herbert...

    "It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion,
    it is by the beans of java the thoughts acquire speed,
    the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning,
    it is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion."


    ---------------------
  • Well, based on responses to somewhat recent stories about brain restoration, brain growth, cybernetics, wearable computers, etc. I expect about 28.21% of Slashdot readers will be intelligent, impotent--and maybe even immortal--cyborgs that never forget anything. :) Gosh that would be fun. :)
  • Interesting findings about the various sizes of body parts, but I have another problem with caffiene. I was recently diagnosed with multible hernias and ulcers in my asaphogus caused, among other things, by the over use of caffiene (which contributes to acid reflux disease). No. 20 cups of coffee and seven cokes a day is NOT a good thing for the body. I am now at a greater risk of throat cancer. I am currently on prescription medicine and I must limit my caffiene intake (a serious lifestyle change for someone as addicted as I was).

    Just wanted to let you all know... considering how geeks are known for their caffiene habits. This might happen to someone else out there.

    By the way, I have heard that caffiene from Gurana (i.e. Bawls) does not have this affect. Can anyone confirm?
  • Bipolar disorder does appear to be genetic. It's certainly hereditary--one of the better established hereditary mental illnesses, in fact--and children of bipolar parents who are later adopted by normals have almost the same incidence of the disease as those who aren't. (That sentence was a bit convoluted....) This implies, rather strongly, that it is genetic, though I could be creative and come up with other explanations.

    AFAIK, it's fairly strictly genetic, as well. The diagnostic requirements place environmentally-induced disorders (eg, bipolar due to head-trauma or stress) in a different category, so true Bipolar I/II should be entirely genetic, though the extreme variation in responses to drugs implies that it's either (i) very complex, genetically, or (ii) has a genetic trigger, but is not itself genetic.

    (For some reason, this post sucked. I shouldn't try to write just after getting up.)
  • ...but I'm willing to give up a little testicle here and there for increased brainpower. Hell, I'll probably never use 'em anyway...

  • PNAS not peer reviewed (Score:3)

    by cweber (34166) <weber&scripps,edu> on Wednesday October 13 1999, @02:30PM (#1616245)
    Keep in kind that PNAS, the journal this article appeared in, is NOT peer reviewed. Articles can be submitted by members of the National Academy of Sciences, and they can be their own, or they can be submitted on behalf of others. In either case, NAS members vouch for the top quality fo the submitted material. However, some complete junk has appeared in PNAS voer the years, despite the journal's generally high status.

    Also, keep in mind that a single publication doesn't make - much less represents - generally held scientific opinion.

    But I see that you all are having great fun with some more mundane implications of the article (or rather with the introductory text to it) and aren't overly concerned about its validity in the first place.

  • This article does not say that the increase in size or density of dendrites has any effect on memory. It appears to have been inferred by readers from the statement:

    "scientists have assumed that changes in the size and shape of these dendritic spines are related to long-term memory, but there has not been any experimental evidence to prove this association."

    Even if we forego the lack of experimental evidence, nowhere does it imply that an increase in size or density relates to long-term memory. It only says that a change in size and shape is related.

    does increase in size = better long term memory? There is some evidence that chemicals used to increase the size and number of dendrites in a rat's brain have changed a rat's behavior when presented with a new object to explore versus control rats. I saw the oh so non-technical report on one of the network news broadcasts. The scientists claim that this was due to an increase in the rat's ability to remember that the other objects in the cage were already explored. I saw no evidence in the brief news story to suggest that memory had anything to do with the new behavior. My devious mind began to think of other reasons for the new behavior. What if it had actualy affected thier ability to filter out their own smell and once the old object had been explored by them and other rats it had an objectionable odor to them? just one possiblity.

    There are many questions this article raise and it answers only one question: What does the direct application of caffine on nerve cells do?: it causes them to release calcium and grow. Much more research is required.

    In the meantime I will replace my intravenious caffine drip with a intracraneal drip and find out what I can.

  • Re:Caffeine (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Sorry, I disagree.

    Sure caffeine causes mood swings in me,
    just like it does for anyone else.
    It doesnt cause mania for me (sorry if you
    werent trying to imply that)
    To those on the outside, I may appear manic
    when I drink caffeine.

    However, on a caffeine 'high' I can go into my room and write code for hours, and actually be
    productive. I cant even accomplish much
    on my job without caffeine, its sort of my antidote to the side effects of the prescribed
    medicines I take (which make me have zero energy,
    zero persistence, ...)

    I can't produce anything on a manic high, hell I cant even remember what I did the day before. I have spent enough time in my life in
    very unpleasant places related to my manic episodes, that I surely wouldnt drink caffeine
    if it would make me go manic.
  • drunk_funk() {
    // do later
    }

  • Re:lumps?! (Score:3)

    by Mononoke (88668) on Wednesday October 13 1999, @07:44AM (#1616263) Homepage Journal
    Crap, I just brewed a pot of Swiss Chocolate Almond, and now I'm feeling myself for lumps.

    At this very moment, half the geeks in the world are headed your way to sample the Swiss Chocolate Almond, while the other half offer to assist in the 'lump search.'

    Better brew another pot. ^_^


    --

  • If caffiene can aid long-term memory, and nutrasweet can inhibit short-term memory, where does that leave Diet Coke?

    Am I doomed to remember every School House Rock song, but never know what I had for breakfast this morning?

  • I believe that the reason ritilin works is because it stimulates the reticular formation in your brain. The reticular formation is the portion of your brain that keeps you alert and attentive. People with ADHD have trouble doing these things. The ritilin stimulates this portion of the brain, and therefor people with ADHD can keep attentive better.

  • Caffeine is very dear to me.

    But it should be treated like medicine.

    I take one thermos of very very strong coffee and when I start to feel my eyes get heavy (which will happen all day for me even on a good night's sleep) I take about an ounce of the stuff. I do this all day and I get a lot of mileage out of more or less four cups of coffee. Then I don't feel wired when it's time for me to sleep.

    I'm a full proponent of meditation as well; when you find it difficult to sleep lay flat on your bed w/o a pillow and repeat a one syllable word in your head. Time the word with your breath so that you finish mentally speaking the word when you fully exhale. As you inhale repeat the word. Try to make your inhalations and exhalations last about 15 secs. Increase of some months to 30. As thoughts arise in your mind simply amuse yourself as you watch them flash like on a screen and then turn your attention back to the word you are repeating. In the morning you should do some head rotations and spine stretching exercises to release any tensions that affect the central nervous system.

    Also when I have a lot of reading to do, sometimes in addition to the coffee, playing a game or two of xbat or galaga gets my adrenaline up enough to carry on.

    I keep about an 18 hr work day; I'm a law student and I have a pretty demanding internet project. So these techniques keep me from losing it.

  • Caffeine messes with your blood sugar. I think it causes your pancreas to go wacky, and it certainly kills your appetite.

    I was a heavy coffee drinker for 8 years and I didn't eat breakfast because I had no appetite. Eating sugar in the afternoon made me fall asleep. After I finally quit my reaction to sugar normalized and I feel a billion times healthier.

    I'd have to say that moderation is the key. Make sure you eat right if you are going to ingest a lot of caffeine and it is probably wise not to drink alot of soda which is full of sugar.

  • What about girls?

    What about girls? I'm so wired on caffeine right now that I'm not even horny, I'd rather find a X-Window for my NT so I can play lincity without leaving my cube to go into the lab.

    More seriously, caffeine can cause breast tenderness and lumps, if I recall.

    George

  • This may not mean "smarter" (Score:3)

    by konstant (63560) on Wednesday October 13 1999, @06:17AM (#1616303)
    Wonderful! Now I will be smart, impotent, and resistant to radiation! The evolution of a new human subspecies!

    Actually, if you read the article, you see that the indication of neural growth is in the dendrite fibers. If you don't remember from high school biology, the dendrites are the feathery tentacles on one side of the nerve cell opposite to the long trailing axon on the other. Here's a pic:

    http://www.pva.org/pn/9805cell/fig1a.gif [pva.org]

    These scientists in Israel have remarked that prolonged exposure to caffeiene promotes growth of the dendrite forest. New dendrite trunks don't sprout, but the ones that alread exist become "leafier". Now, there are many theories about what constitutes a "smart" brain. Repeated study of Einstein's chilled gray blob have failed to turn up any manifest differences from brains of the average population. However, it's generally accepted that the interconnection between cells, handled by the axons and dendrites, has a bearing on our ability to remember data and patterns. The better and more efficient your connections, the faster you can see patterns in your daily experiences, and the smarter you are.

    The key word is "efficient". This caffeiene-promoted boost in dendrite growth may be fairly random. If so, then the connections it is forming between cells may not be relevant to efficient pattern retrieval. This would actually slow down your thought processes by weaking the strength of the electrochemical signal along the "correct" pattern pathway. Your axon bodies only release so much neurotransmitter at any given time, so the potency is weakened by a proliferation of recipient dendrites.

    Don't throw away your textbooks just yet.

    -konstant
  • As an avid coffee drinker, I like the news, but there's a lot more research to do. Based on the article, I'm curious what happens in people that take calcium supplements. (The research seems to state that calcium imposed from outside the cell is bad, while releasing it from inside the cell is good -- so what's the good way to get calcium into the cell in the first place, slow diffusion over time?)

    The other half of this is that coffee contains something like six or seven dozen different chemicals (if memory serves; it's at least fifty), caffeine is only one of 'em and most of the rest are still unidentified. Translation: we're still not sure what the others do to us...

    (Peers over rim of coffee cup) Excuse me, looks like it's time for my next cup.

    Livin' on the edge, that's me.
  • The findings point to a need for further research into these processes, since they suggest that a modest, temporary rise in calcium levels results in growth and proliferation of these important brain cells, while a larger and more prolonged rise causes the cells to collapse. The implications for long-term memory and learning are not yet clear.

    The article seemed to come to the conclusion that an excess of calcium can actually cause brain cells to collapse. Can an excess of caffeine trigger an excess of calcium in the brain? If so, wouldn't caffeine only be good for you in moderation (like most things)?
  • I suggest checking out the Caffeine and Coffee FAQs - click here. [cs.unb.ca]

    I also just finished working with the FAQ's maintainer on a trimmed down version for Palm Pilot (in case you eve need to decide between Sugar Free Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper striclty on Caffeine content). I don't think he's linked them yet, but you can go to my page [dhs.org] to get them (in the Palm Pilot section).

    Johnath

  • For more information... (Score:3)

    by Johnath (85825) on Wednesday October 13 1999, @07:34AM (#1616329) Homepage
    I suggest checking out the Caffeine and Coffee FAQs - click here. [cs.unb.ca]



    I also just finished working with the FAQ's maintainer on a trimmed down version for Palm Pilot (in case you eve need to decide between Sugar Free Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper striclty on Caffeine content). I don't think he's linked them yet, but you can go to my page [dhs.org] to get them (in the Palm Pilot section).



    Johnath

  • If this dendrite growth is more random, making the connections it forms irrelevant to efficient pattern retrieval, it sounds very much like it would enhance associativity at the expense of logical thinking.
    You could almost call that enhancing creativity at the expense of intelligence. You could also call it schizophrenia (tendency to associate _incorrectly_). However, there's one thing that's quite clear- 'thinking outside the box' or making conceptual jumps requires more than simple logical and efficient pattern retrieval. What sane, logical person would have speculated on how to make a consumer computer and decided, "I know! I'll make it a bright, transparent gumdrop!"? The idea is totally insane- but it worked and is still working.
    That's just one example of many- but the point is that if caffeine increases connections in this manner, it could be said to enhance innovation. This also suggests that innovation is on the borderline between logic and schizophrenia- the 'sweet spot' is ideas wacky enough to be innovative, but not so foolish as to be useless. That, as well, changes as the environment changes- many computer things would have been foolish five or ten years ago. 3D video games? Yeah right ;) dynamic light sources in 'em? Impossible, there's too much calculation ;) now, what is foolishly unrealistic today?
  • The brain is one seriously ad-hoc architecture. At a basic level, there is impulse: smell coffee, raise cup. To avoid having this cause problems in awkward circumstances (like when using hands for more interesting things [more interesting than coffee? Hmmmm]) there is a review process (think gatekeeper) that checks impulses before execution.

    This gatekeeper, being a relative latecomer in evolutionary terms, isn't particularly robust. Lots of things can take it offline, such as alcohol, which explains why a depressant (alcohol) can act as an apparent stimulant.

    Likewise, people with ADHD actually have soporific gatekeepers and thus for them the very thought is the deed ("No, Honey, I really didn't mean to spill coffee all over that white shirt while we were kissing!") Stimulants "wake up" the 'gatekeeper' and allow the subject to stop foot before oral insertion.

    Lots more of this over on alt.support.attn-deficit

    HTH. HAND.

  • State dependent memory (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 13 1999, @08:25AM (#1616336)
    In graduate school, my metabolism started slowing down, and because I was under high pressure, I started drinking coffee to speed myself up. Eventually I became a total fiend, consuming coffee nearly all day every day and was always very wired. Eventually I started noticing that my memories of my undergrad (pre-coffee) days were there but were not vivid at all. And I had very few spontaneous memories for that time frame... I only remembered specific stuff if i worked hard at it.

    Many years later I finally quit caffiene, and began the slowdown from being permanently wired to "normal". The weird thing is that alot of those memories from the pre-coffee days came flooding back unsolicited. I'll be walking down the street and some random memory that I haven't though of in 10 years will just pop up.

  • Finally, a reason to make caffienated milk. I need my caffiene to wake up every day, but I also drink a gallon or so of milk every day too. I've always thought that if I could get both at the same time, I'd be much happier. Calcium to supply my brain cells, and the caffeine to release it. Nice.
  • Great, so I'll have better long-term memory, I'll be cranky, short-tempered, not sleep well, have headaches when I can't get my fix, my hands will shake so that it's impossible to do fine work, and I'll get anxiety attacks.

    No thanks. I'm not going back. Some people can "do" 'ffeine. Others can't.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
  • Ok. Here we go. In really basic lame terms.

    People with ADD actually have brains that are "craving" stimulation, because their brains are understimulated, there is less going on. It sounds counter-intuitative, but think about it, it makes senese and its biology (bio-psychology). The ADD brain, running low on stimulation wants that extra thing to do to try and get normal in a sense.

    So you can see how caffine will calm you down. It stimulates your brain and brings you to normal, so therefore you feel more calm and closer to "normal"


  • Although many people believe that Caffeine prevents the absorbtion of calcium, this is not necessarily the case. this link [homearts.com] goes into greater detail on the matter.

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