Regular Caffeine Consumption Tied to Reduced Brain Volume

Do you like coffee? We are always talking about it here on the channel, have you noticed? Watch the recommended videos to learn more about it. A favorite in the morning, coffee can change the volume of gray matter in the brain. Did you know that? According to a new study published in the Cerebral Cortex Journal, conducted by scientists of the University of Basel, Switzerland, drinking a cup of coffee a day can change the volume of gray matter for a certain time. The study also suggests that this amount of coffee doesn't seem to affect sleep quality, going against a common belief. Isn't it interesting? To conduct this experiment, researchers recruited 20 healthy volunteers that were used to drinking coffee every day. For 10 days, the volunteers were instructed to take 3 daily capsules of caffeine of 150 mg and abstain from any other source of caffeine. This protocol was then repeated for another 10 days, in which the patients received placebo pills. At the end of every 10 days, the participants had their brain scanned through fMRI. Brain activity was measured while participants slept. The results suggest that gray matter volume decreases after regular caffeine consumption, but increases after 10 days of abstinence. Now, you must be asking yourself, what is gray matter? Gray matter is the part of the central nervous system composed mainly of cell bodies of nerve cells. White matter is made of neural ways, the extensions of nerve cells. The study saw changes in gray matter during the period of caffeine consumption. After a 10-day caffeine abstinence, while taking a placebo, the volume of gray matter was higher than during the consumption period. Researchers, however, also concluded that these changes seem to be temporary, and only 10 days of caffeine abstinence are enough to reverse the results. After this period, the volume of gray matter regenerated significantly among participants. Changes in gray matter were more noticeable on the right medial temporal lobe, the part associated with memory. It contains key structures like the hippocampus, parahippocampus, and fusiform gyrus. To analyze the impact of these changes, the participants completed a series of memory tasks. It was found that they usually did better after abstaining from caffeine for 10 days, compared to when taking the stimulant. Enjoying the video? Then give it a like and share it with your friends to help the channel! The study also revealed that the deep sleep stage remained the same, regardless of participants taking caffeine capsules or the placebo. According to the authors, the slow-wave activity, SWA, during sleep wasn't affected by caffeine consumption or by the changes in gray matter volume. This was taken with surprise, as many people report interrupted sleep after ingesting caffeine. Although coffee is believed to keep us awake, the data doesn't suggest a link between deep sleep with daily caffeine ingestion and changes in brain morphology. Isn't it interesting? Now, tell us, have you ever gone through a period without coffee? If so, did you notice any improvements in your memory? Let us know in the comments!