Cognitive Benefits of Coffee

Scientists were interested in the differences that happen in the brain between ingesting coffee and plain caffeine.  They recruited coffee drinkers and had them abstain from caffeine intake for 3 hours prior to the study.  They scanned their brains using MRI before and after ingesting either coffee or plain caffeine.

All participants in the study experienced a decrease in the connectivity of the default mode network, the areas of the brain that take over when we rest or daydream.  When we are not engaged in any specific task, the default mode takes over.  Caffeine promoted a shift from resting to activity, either by itself or in coffee.

The participants that drank coffee experienced benefits that caffeine alone did not produce.  The coffee participants experienced increased activity in two other brain areas: the higher visual network and the right executive control network.  These brain areas are involved with working memory, cognitive control, and goal-directed behavior.  One of the researchers described the participants who had coffee as “more ready for action and alert to external stimuli.”

Takeaway: If you enjoy coffee, research indicates that it helps you transition from rest to activity by disengaging your automated default mode network and activating the parts of your brain that help you set and achieve goals.

Well-being is a journey, not a quick fix.

Sources

Angharad Brewer Gillham, New Research Suggests Coffee has Unique Cognitive Benefits Beyond Caffeine, PsyPost, July 29, 2023, New research suggests coffee has unique cognitive benefits beyond caffeine (psypost.org).

Default Mode Network, Psychology Today, Default Mode Network | Psychology Today.

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