Drinking coffee in the morning provides a boost effect that other caffeine does not

Various studies have shown that coffee is rather a healthy drink. New Portuguese researchers have shown that coffee, unlike other caffeine, has the ability to improve attention, working memory, and goal-oriented behavior.

Frontiers | Coffee consumption decreases the connectivity of the posterior Default Mode Network (DMN) at rest

Brewing Clarity: The Unique Neurological Effects of Coffee Over Plain Caffeine

Many people drink coffee in the morning instead of waking up. Maria Pico-Perez and colleagues from the University of Minho in Portugal investigated whether the claim by coffee drinkers that 'drinking coffee improves alertness, improves motor skills, cognitive skills, and efficiency' is true.

Subjects were people who drank at least one cup of coffee a day, refrained from ingesting caffeinated beverages 3 hours before the start of the experiment, and performed MRI scans before and after caffeine intake.

They found that caffeine consumption reduced connectivity in the parts of the brain network involved in the process of introspection, preparing people to move from rest to work.

Only when coffee was ingested, the right executive control network, which is involved in higher-order visual networks, working memory, cognitive control, and goal-directed behavior, became stronger. Simply ingesting caffeine did not show these effects.

The research team said, 'Simply put, drinking coffee made the subjects more ready for action and kept them awake to external stimuli.'

``Some of the effects have been replicated by caffeine, and you can expect similar effects with other caffeinated beverages,'' Pico-Perez said. It is caused by factors such as aroma, taste, or the psychological expectations associated with drinking coffee.'

The researchers suggest that even decaffeinated coffee could trigger these effects.