(Press-News.org) Boston, MA—Since 1977, there has been a 70% increase in caffeine consumption among children and adolescents. Whether it is coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks, our children are consuming more of it. One well documented effect of caffeine is improved cognitive performance on certain tasks. However, scientists also hypothesize that habitual caffeine use may lead to greater neural rewards if the caffeine drinker were to consume illicit drugs.
To add more to the research base regarding caffeine's effect on cognition in children and teens, Jennifer Temple, PhD, University at Buffalo, recently investigated with graduate student Adam Graczyk whether male and female children perform differently on 5 separate tasks in response to caffeine. Using a sample size of 96 children and adolescents, they measured developmental and gender differences in subjects who were given caffeine or placebo and then put through memory tests, reaction time tests, and color-word tasks. The results showed that caffeine increased the number correct in the memory tests, and that females had more correct responses than males in simple reaction time and color-word tasks. There were also differences across the menstrual cycle in the females.
According to Temple, "This is the first study in children and adolescents to report sex differences in responses to caffeine on cognitive tasks as well as different responses according to the girls' menstrual cycles. It suggests that if we look at caffeine as a model for illicit drugs, men and women respond differently because of circulating steroid hormones. Moving forward, this could be helpful in developing treatments for drug addictions based on gender." This poster will be presented at the American Society for Nutrition's scientific sessions at Experimental Biology.
This study was funded by NIDA grant RO1 DA030386 and by the Gender Institute at the University at Buffalo.
Caffeine Pairing: A Potential New Way to Eat Your Veggies?
In a separate study addressing caffeine, Temple along with her PhD student Leah Panek wanted to find out whether pairing a flavored food (in this case yogurt) with caffeine consumption would increase one's perceived likeability of that food.
They tested whether a caffeinated beverage paired with a novel flavored yogurt would increase preference for that yogurt compared with placebo. A total of 68 men and women ages 18-50 were randomized to receive a beverage containing placebo or caffeine and then consumed a low energy density yogurt or high energy density yogurt. The flavors were not typical of yogurt in order to avoid any taste preferences in place prior to the study; they included almond, maple, peppermint, pumpkin pie, raspberry-lemon, strawberry coconut, and savory (cumin).
Results showed that after rating and ranking the seven yogurts over 4 days, yogurt liking increased over time, with the yogurt paired with caffeine liked more than yogurt paired with placebo.
"Next we'd like to do the same experiment with fruits and vegetables, in order to capitalize on the fact that people already consume caffeine," Temple said.
Imagine if you could learn to love the one vegetable you hate by administering caffeine!
Leah Panek contributed to the caffeine pairing study, which was funded by the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo.
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About Experimental Biology 2013
Experimental Biology's mission is to share the newest scientific concepts and research findings shaping future and current clinical advances – and to give scientists and clinicians an unparalleled opportunity to hear from colleagues working on similar biomedical problems using different disciplines. With six sponsoring societies and another 20 U.S. and international guest societies, the annual meeting brings together scientists from throughout the United States and the world, representing dozens of scientific areas, from laboratory to translational to clinical research. The meeting also offers a wide spectrum of professional development sessions.
About the American Society for Nutrition
The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) is the preeminent professional organization for nutrition research scientists and clinicians around the world. ASN is dedicated to bringing together the top nutrition researchers, medical practitioners, policy makers and industry leaders to advance our knowledge and application of nutrition. Founded in 1928, ASN publishes The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN), The Journal of Nutrition (JN), and Advances in Nutrition and provides a wide range of education and professional development opportunities to advance nutrition research, practice, and education. Visit ASN online at http://www.nutrition.org.
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Boston, MA—Accurately depicting dinosaur anatomy has come a long way since the science fiction films of the 1960s. In celebration of the American Association of Anatomists' (AAA) 125th anniversary, renowned dinosaur anatomy expert Dr. Lawrence Witmer will deliver a lecture reflecting on the AAA's first President Joseph Leidy, also a preeminent American dinosaur paleontologist, and the modernizing of prehistoric bones.
Witmer will show how the Visible Interactive Dinosaur (VID) project recreates soft-tissue systems within a 3D digital environment. VID, funded by the National ...
A new review of insect pollinators of crops and wild plants has concluded they are under threat globally from a cocktail of multiple pressures, and their decline or loss could have profound environmental, human health and economic consequences.
Globally, insects provide pollination services to about 75% of crop species and enable reproduction in up to 94% of wild flowering plants. Pollination services provided by insects each year worldwide are valued at over US$200 billion.
The review, published today (22 April 2013) in the scientific journal 'Frontiers in Ecology ...
Chicago — (April 22, 2013) – The health benefits of fibre are relatively well known yet average fibre intake around the world continues to be inadequate (1,2). Many diets continue to lack recommended servings of foods naturally high in fibre like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains resulting in low fibre intake (3). Three new studies contribute to the growing body of evidence for the health benefits of added fibres in the diet. These types of fibre can be added to a wide range of foods and contribute similar health benefits as "intact" fibres, providing a ...
Chicago — (April 22, 2013) – Sodium intake around the world is well in excess of physiological needs (1) and public health authorities agree that chronic excess sodium intake can increase blood pressure and the risk of heart attack and stroke (2). However, despite recommendations to lower sodium consumption over the last decade, actual intake continues to rise.
Rising Sodium Intake
Research supported by Tate & Lyle was presented today at the American Society for Nutrition Experimental Biology (3) conference in Boston which indicates that in the United States, sodium ...
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Dr. Robert Hess from McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has used the popular puzzle video game Tetris in an innovative approach to...
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A research team led by Dr. Robert Hess from McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has used the popular puzzle video game Tetris in an innovative approach to treat adult amblyopia, commonly ...
Geneva, Switzerland: Giving palliative radiotherapy to elderly patients with painful bone metastases can significantly improve their quality of life, a Dutch researcher told the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) today (Monday).
With the number of elderly patients who suffer from metastatic disease on the increase due to the ageing of the population and the ability to prolong the palliative phase of cancers, this finding has important implications for clinical practice, said Dr Paulien Westhoff from the Department of Radiotherapy ...
DAVIS, CA, April 22, 2013 – Three new studies involving tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) were presented this week at the Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston, MA. Tree nut consumption was associated with a better nutrient profile and diet quality; lower body weight and lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome; and a decrease in several cardiovascular risk factors compared to those seen among non-consumers.
First, the Adventist Health Study looked at the effect of nut intake on the risk of metabolic ...
Two Spanish scientists have designed an equation that provides a highly accurate estimate of an individual's speed based on stride length. They used data from professional athletes and walking and running experiments on a beach in order to come up with the equation. The result has applications in the study of fossil trackways of human footprints.
In the spring of 2008, 14 palaeontology students from the Complutense University of Madrid ran along a beach in Asturias (Spain) at the request of a planetary geologist who was a friend of their fieldwork director. Javier Ruiz, ...
Individual cancer cells that break away from the original tumor and circulate through the blood stream are considered responsible for the development of metastases. These dreaded secondary tumors are the main cause of cancer-related deaths. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detectable in a patient's blood are associated with a poorer prognosis. However, up until now, experimental evidence was lacking as to whether the "stem cell" of metastasis is found among CTCs.
"We were convinced that only very few of the various circulating tumor cells are capable of forming a secondary ...
In various studies across different countries the reported one year mortality risks after hip fracture can vary anywhere from 5 to 50 %. In India, however, there has been little research on the risk of mortality and functional impairment following hip fracture.
In an oral presentation held during the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis in Rome, Italy, held from April 17 to 20 in Rome, Italy, researchers from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India presented findings from a prospective study which found that patients had a high rate of one-year mortality ...
