Yes / Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the prior consumption of 200mg of pure caffeine affected neuropsychological test scores in a group of elderly participants aged over 60 years. Method: Using a double blind placebo vs. caffeine design, participants were randomly assigned to receive 200mg of caffeine or placebo. A neuropsychological assessment testing the domains of general cognitive function, processing speed, semantic memory, episodic memory, executive function, working memory and short-term memory was carried out. Results: Significant interaction effects between age, caffeine and scores of executive function and processing speed were found; participants who had received caffeine showed a decline in performance with increasing age. This effect was not seen for participants who received placebo. Conclusion: The results highlight the need to consider and control prior caffeine consumption when scoring neuropsychological assessments in the elderly which is important for accuracy of diagnosis and corresponding normative data.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/7802 |
| Date | 15 December 2015 |
| Creators | Walters, Elizabeth R., Lesk, Valerie E. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, final draft paper |
| Rights | (c) 2016 S. Karger AG. Full-text reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
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