Study Reveals Role of Caffeine, Coffee Can Change Brain Response to Touch

JAKARTA - Morning coffee may not only make your eyes feel more refreshed. A small study suggests caffeine can affect the way the brain responds to touch and body movement.

Launching a report by The Independent, Wednesday, May 13, the study examined the effects of normal and high doses of caffeine on a brain process called short-latency afferent inhibition or SAI.

SAI is a filtering mechanism in the brain that helps the body control muscle responses after receiving touch. Simply put, this process makes the brain not overreact to small stimuli.

In the study, scientists gave participants a mild electrical stimulation to their wrists. A moment later, a magnetic pulse was directed to the brain to trigger the fingertip wrinkles. The brain's reaction was then measured with a noninvasive method, that is, without surgery.

The results showed that caffeine increased the brain's ability to limit muscle response after touch. This finding suggests that coffee can improve SAI.

The researchers suspect the effect occurs because caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine receptors are related to drowsiness and the nervous system's work.

The blockage is thought to increase acetylcholine, a brain chemical that helps regulate the cooperation between the senses and muscle movement.

"The effects of caffeine may stem from its modulation of the cholinergic system," the researchers wrote.

The cholinergic system is a neural network that uses acetylcholine tohelp memory, attention, movement, and sensory responses.

The Independent did not name the researchers or the journal in the paper. However, the researchers said the findings could provide new insights into how caffeine works in the body and its possible links to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Because this study is still small-scale, scientists hope that there will be follow-up studies with more participants and caffeine doses above 400 milligrams.

For now, researchers conclude that participants should avoid caffeine before undergoing SAI examination.