Abstract
Caffeine is ubiquitous, yet its impact on central taste processing is not well understood. Although there has been considerable research on caffeine’s physiological and cognitive effects, there is a paucity of research investigating the effects of caffeine on taste. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate group differences between caffeine consumers and non-consumers in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) activation during hedonic evaluation of taste. We scanned 14 caffeine consumers and 14 caffeine non-consumers at 3 Tesla, while they rated three tastes: caffeine (bitter), sucrose (sweet), and saccharin (sweet with bitter after taste), in aqueous solutions. Differences in BOLD activation were analyzed using voxel wise independent samples t-tests within Analysis of Functional Neuroimage (AFNI). Results indicated that during the hedonic evaluation of caffeine or sucrose, caffeine non-consumers had significantly greater activation in neuronal areas associated with memory and reward. During the hedonic evaluation of saccharin, caffeine consumers had significantly greater activation in areas associated with memory and information processing. The findings suggest caffeine consumption is associated with differential activation in neuronal areas involved in reward, memory, and information processing. Further research on intensity and hedonics of bitter and sweet stimuli in caffeine consumers and non-consumers will be of great interest to better understand the nature of differences in taste perception between caffeine consumers and non-consumers.
Highlights
IntroductionIt currently ranks as the most popular psychostimulant in the world [1]
We aimed to investigate differential brain activation during the hedonic evaluation of taste to determine (1) whether caffeine consumers have greater activation than non-consumers in areas related to reward processing; (2) whether caffeine non-consumers have greater neuronal activation than consumers in memory pathways, such as areas in the medial temporal lobe (MTL); and (3) whether caffeine non-consumers may rely upon activation of a larger network than consumers in order to perform the task
We examined brain response in self-reported caffeine consumers and caffeine non-consumers during an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan to investigate whether regular consumption of caffeine is associated with differential activation of areas related to memory, reward, and information processing
Summary
It currently ranks as the most popular psychostimulant in the world [1]. Eighty-five percent of the United States’ population consumes at least one caffeinated beverage daily [2]. Many beverages contain caffeine, including coffee, the most widely consumed beverage after water [3]. Other widely consumed caffeinated beverages are tea and energy drinks, which typically contain a high caffeine content, as well as a high glucose content [2,4]. Despite caffeine’s bitter taste and the fact that bitter tastes often discourage intake, coffee and tea remain two of the most widely ingested beverages [5]. Caffeine’s widespread consumption warrants a better understanding of its effects
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