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Brain Sci 2021 Mar 10;11(3). Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Psychopharmacology, Substance Misuse and Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK.

Introduction: Cognitive enhancers (CEs), also known as "smart drugs", "study aids" or "nootropics" are a cause of concern. Recent research studies investigated the use of CEs being taken as study aids by university students. This manuscript provides an overview of popular CEs, focusing on a range of drugs/substances (e. Read More

Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2020 Nov 30. Epub 2020 Nov 30.

Department of Mental Disorders.

Our main aim was to estimate the extent of overlapping etiology between caffeine consumption and response and normative and pathological personality. Linear mixed-effects models were used to identify normative personality domains and personality disorder (PD) traits for inclusion in multivariate twin analyses together with individual caffeine related measures. Data were obtained from Norwegian adult twins in a face-to-face interview conducted in 1999-2004 as part of a population-based study of mental health and through self-report in 2010-2011 and 2015-2017. Read More

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021 01 17;534:632-638. Epub 2020 Nov 17.

Basic Medical Sciences College, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, 430065, China. Electronic address:

Caffeine is a common stimulant widely existed in food and has stimulatory effects on the central nervous system, shift-work individuals often rely on caffeine to maintain attention and keep awake. Although sleep deprivation (SD) is widely considered as an independent risk factor for cognition retardations, however, little is well understood about the synergistic role of caffeine dosage and SD for cognitive performance. This research intended to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of varying caffeine doses on cognitive function after sleep deprivation. Read More

Asian J Psychiatr 2019 Mar 4;41:73-75. Epub 2017 Feb 4.

Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India. Electronic address:

Caffeine consumption has been constantly growing in India especially among children and youngsters. Addictive potential of caffeine has long been reported, still there is lack of awareness about caffeine abuse in India. There is an intense need for appropriate public health regulatory measures and awareness about addictive potential & harms related to caffeine. Read More

Hum Psychopharmacol 2014 Nov 14;29(6):599-603. Epub 2014 Oct 14.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

Although a great deal of information about the neurobiology of panic disorder is now available, there is a need for an updated etiological model integrating recent findings on the neurobiology of the arousal system and its relationship with higher cortical functions in panic disorder. The current mini-review presents psychophysiological, molecular biological/genetic and functional neuroimaging evidence for dysfunction in major arousal systems of the brain. Such dysfunction may influence the development of panic disorder by precipitating autonomic bodily symptoms and at the same time increasing vigilance to these sensations by modulating cortical attentional networks. Read More

J Caffeine Res 2013 Jun;3(2):67-71

Department of Psychology, American University , Washington, District of Columbia.

Aims: Caffeine withdrawal was included in the research appendix of the DSM-IV to encourage additional research to assist with determining its status for the next version of the manual. Caffeine dependence was not included because of a lack of empirical research at the time of publication. This study assessed the beliefs of addiction professionals about the clinical importance of caffeine withdrawal and dependence. Read More

BMC Psychiatry 2014 Apr 16;14:116. Epub 2014 Apr 16.

Neami National, 247 - 249 Rosanna Road, 3084 Rosanna, VIC, Australia.

Background: Research has shown that individuals with schizophrenia use caffeine at higher rates than the general population; however, no qualitative research has been undertaken investigating problematic caffeine use and its effects on this population. This article explores the role of caffeine consumption in the lives of people with schizophrenia through a narrative analysis of the attitudes and beliefs associated with this practice, and how these, in turn, influence caffeine consumption.

Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken with individuals who had previously scored in either a 'moderate' or 'high' risk category for caffeine use on the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Tool (ASSIST). Read More

J Alzheimers Dis 2014 ;41(1):101-12

Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva and Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Previous studies showed that acute caffeine administration enhances task-related brain activation in elderly individuals with preserved cognition. To explore the effects of this widely used agent on cognition and brain activation in early phases of cognitive decline, we performed a double-blinded, placebo-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study during an n-back working memory task in 17 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to 17 age-matched healthy controls (HC). All individuals were regular caffeine consumers with an overnight abstinence and given 200 mg caffeine versus placebo tablets 30 minutes before testing. Read More

Sleep 2012 Jul 1;35(7):967-75. Epub 2012 Jul 1.

Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.

Objectives: To identify common genetic variants that predispose to caffeine-induced insomnia and to test whether genes whose expression changes in the presence of caffeine are enriched for association with caffeine-induced insomnia.

Design: A hypothesis-free, genome-wide association study.

Setting: Community-based sample of Australian twins from the Australian Twin Registry. Read More

Drug Alcohol Depend 2009 Jan 21;99(1-3):1-10. Epub 2008 Sep 21.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.

Since the introduction of Red Bull in Austria in 1987 and in the United States in 1997, the energy drink market has grown exponentially. Hundreds of different brands are now marketed, with caffeine content ranging from a modest 50 mg to an alarming 505 mg per can or bottle. Regulation of energy drinks, including content labeling and health warnings differs across countries, with some of the most lax regulatory requirements in the U. Read More

Psychol Med 2006 Dec 8;36(12):1717-25. Epub 2006 Aug 8.

Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0126, USA.

Background: Although caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive substance and often produces symptoms of toxicity and dependence, little is known, especially in community samples, about the association between caffeine use, toxicity and dependence and risk for common psychiatric and substance use disorders.

Method: Assessments of lifetime maximal caffeine use and symptoms of caffeine toxicity and dependence were available on over 3600 adult twins ascertained from the population-based Virginia Twin Registry. Lifetime histories of major depression (MD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder, alcohol dependence, adult antisocial behavior and cannabis and cocaine abuse/dependence were obtained at personal interview. Read More

Behav Pharmacol 2005 Nov;16(7):559-71

Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.

Previous research has shown that caffeine deprivation state can exert a strong influence on the ability of caffeine to reinforce behaviour. Recent work has also found evidence for an attentional bias in habitual caffeine users. It remains unclear whether deprivation state can influence attentional bias. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005 Sep 12;181(3):477-85. Epub 2005 Oct 12.

Department of Psychology, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9Q6, UK.

Rationale: Attentional bias for drug-related cues has been reported with a wide range of drugs, but to date the extent to which caffeine consumers show similar biases for caffeine-related stimuli has not been tested. The present study therefore examined this issue in terms of differences in attentional bias for caffeine-related words in High, Moderate and Non-caffeine consumers using a dot-probe word task following overnight caffeine abstinence.

Objectives: This study was conducted to test whether caffeine consumers show an attentional bias for caffeine-related words, and whether such biases relate to habitual levels of caffeine use. Read More

Clin Pharmacokinet 2000 Aug;39(2):127-53

Department of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain.

Caffeine from dietary sources (mainly coffee, tea and soft drinks) is the most frequently and widely consumed CNS stimulant in the world today. Because of its enormous popularity, the consumption of caffeine is generally thought to be safe and long term caffeine intake may be disregarded as a medical problem. However, it is clear that this compound has many of the features usually associated with a drug of abuse. Read More