A new study shows caffeine boosts brain activity. Dr Florian Koppelstatter of the Medical University Innsbruck, Austria, found that caffeine affects distinct areas of the brain. This study is beleived to be the first to demonstrate a visible impact on the brain from caffeine. Subjects who had been given caffeine showed significantly more activity in the frontal lobe and the anterior cingulum – areas of the brain associated with memory and attention. Subjects who received a placebo showed no such impact.
The studies were conducted using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to provide scans of short-term brain activity. The volunteer subjects were given 100 mg of caffeine, roughly equivalent to two cups of coffee.
The Tidings blog suggests that we should all drink our way to an improved memory.
One wonders how marketers might exploit this knowledge… perhaps Starbucks could sell ad space on its cups. Or, better even, its lids. Got a new movie to promote? Why not ensure that a few million caffeine-driven coffee drinkers see an ad every time they tilt their triple-espresso cafe mocha to their lips?
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Mon, Dec 26, 2005
Neuromarketing, Neuroscience Research