Effects of a new slow release formulation of caffeine on EEG, psychomotor and cognitive functions in sleep‐deprived subjects

Caffeine is a widely‐consumed psychoactive substance whose stimulant effects on mood, attention and performance are largely recognised. The central nervous system pharmacodynamic profile of a single oral dose of a new slow release (SR) caffeine formulation (600 mg) was assessed in a randomised, double‐blind, crossover, placebo‐controlled study. Twelve young, health, male, sleep‐deprived (for 36 h) subjects were studied using EEG and various measures of psychomotor and cognitive functions, including critical flicker fusion (CFF), choice reaction task (CRT), tracking, continuous performance task (CPT), Stroop test, body sway and subjective evaluation (Stanford Sleepiness Scale). Caffeine significantly ( < 0/05) antagonised the detrimental effects of sleep‐deprivation on EEG (i.e. produced a significant decrease in delta and theta relative power and a significant increase in alpha and beta (12–40 Hz) relative power) and psychomotor performance (significant increase in speed of reaction on the CRT and Stroop tests, significant decrease in body sway, significant increase in accuracy of the CPT and significant reduction in subjective sedation) compared to placebo. The effect peaked 4 h after dosing and was maintained until the end of sleep deprivation (i.e. 24 h after dosing). In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that a single dose of caffeine SR possesses alerting effects which are able to reverse the deleterious effect of 36 h sleep deprivation for at least 24 h. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[1]  J. Daly.  Adenosine receptors: targets for future drugs. , 1982, Journal of medicinal chemistry.

[2]  G. Kaplan,et al.  Caffeine-induced behavioral stimulation is dose-dependent and associated with A1 adenosine receptor occupancy. , 1992, Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

[3]  M. Lader,et al.  The psychopharmacological and electrophysiological effects of single doses of caffeine in healthy human subjects. , 1986, British journal of clinical pharmacology.

[4]  G. McClelland.  Body sway and the effects of psychoactive drugs — a review , 1989 .

[5]  J. Hinrichs,et al.  Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Interactions Between Caffeine and Diazepam , 1986, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[6]  L. Johnson,et al.  Daytime sleepiness, performance, mood, nocturnal sleep: the effect of benzodiazepine and caffeine on their relationship. , 1990, Sleep.

[7]  D. Charney,et al.  Increased anxiogenic effects of caffeine in panic disorders. , 1985, Archives of general psychiatry.

[8]  H E ROSVOLD,et al.  A continuous performance test of brain damage. , 1956, Journal of consulting psychology.

[9]  B. Weiss,et al.  Enhancement of human performance by caffeine and the amphetamines. , 1962, Pharmacological reviews.

[10]  R. Griffiths,et al.  Caffeine: a model drug of abuse. , 1990, NIDA research monograph.

[11]  Roland R. Griffiths,et al.  Interactions of diazepam and caffeine: Behavioral and subjective dose effects in humans , 1987, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[12]  T. Kapteyn,et al.  Standarization in platform stabilometry being apart of posturography , 1983 .

[13]  A. Coenen,et al.  Alertness and memory after sleep deprivation and diazepam intake , 1997, Journal of psychopharmacology.

[14]  G. Kaplan,et al.  Dose‐Dependent Pharmacokinetics and Psychomotor Effects of Caffeine in Humans , 1997, Journal of clinical pharmacology.

[15]  A W Peck,et al.  Effects of caffeine and cyclizine alone and in combination on human performance, subjective effects and EEG activity. , 1979, British journal of clinical pharmacology.

[16]  H C Sing,et al.  The effects of d-amphetamine on arousal, cognition, and mood after prolonged total sleep deprivation. , 1989, Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

[17]  M. Koslowsky,et al.  Meta-analysis of the relationship between total sleep deprivation and performance. , 1992, Chronobiology international.

[18]  R. Griffiths,et al.  Withdrawal syndrome after the double-blind cessation of caffeine consumption. , 1992, The New England journal of medicine.

[19]  D. Batéjat,et al.  Interest of modafinil, a new psychostimulant, during a sixty‐hour sleep deprivation experiment , 1995, Fundamental & clinical pharmacology.

[20]  S H Snyder,et al.  Adenosine receptors and behavioral actions of methylxanthines. , 1981, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[21]  J. J. Barone,et al.  Human Consumption of Caffeine , 1984 .

[22]  R. Hoffmann,et al.  The effects of sleep deprivation on divergent thinking and attention processes , 1992, Journal of sleep research.

[23]  H. Lieberman,et al.  The Effects of Caffeine and Aspirin on Mood and Performance , 1987, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[24]  A. Pettitt,et al.  High incentive effects on vigilance performance during 72 hours of total sleep deprivation. , 1985, Acta psychologica.

[25]  H. Babkoff,et al.  The effects of 72 hours of sleep loss on psychological variables. , 1989, British journal of psychology.

[26]  W. Dement,et al.  Quantification of sleepiness: a new approach. , 1973, Psychophysiology.

[27]  A. Patat,et al.  Determination of the maximal tolerated dose of a new acute oral caffeine formulation in healthy volunteers , 1996 .

[28]  T. Roth,et al.  Alerting effects of caffeine after normal and restricted sleep. , 1991, Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

[29]  N. Benowitz,et al.  Clinical pharmacology of caffeine. , 1990, Annual review of medicine.

[30]  M. Lader,et al.  Anxiogenic effects of caffeine in patients with anxiety disorders. , 1992, Archives of general psychiatry.

[31]  L. Chait,et al.  Factors influencing the subjective response to caffeine , 1992, Behavioural pharmacology.

[32]  P. B. Dews,et al.  Behavioral effects of caffeine , 2020, Caffeine and Behavior: Current Views & Research Trends.

[33]  R. Griffiths,et al.  Effects of caffeine on cigarette smoking and subjective response , 1983, Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

[34]  E. Corruble,et al.  Subjective effects of modafinil, a new central adrenergic stimulant in healthy volunteers: a comparison with amphetamine, caffeine and placebo , 1993, European Psychiatry.

[35]  L. Frewer,et al.  The effects of caffeine on two computerized tests of attention and vigilance , 1991 .

[36]  R. Griffiths,et al.  Reinforcing effects of caffeine in coffee and capsules. , 1989, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[37]  T. Roth,et al.  Ethanol and caffeine effects on daytime sleepiness/alertness. , 1987, Sleep.

[38]  S. File,et al.  Interaction Between Effects of Caffeine and Lorazepam in Performance Tests and Self‐Ratings , 1982, Journal of clinical psychopharmacology.

[39]  A. Patat,et al.  Lack of Amphetamine‐Like Effects After Administration of Mefenorex in Normal Young Subjects , 1996 .

[40]  J. L. Kenemans,et al.  The effects of sleep loss on task performance and the electroencephalogram in young and elderly subjects , 1997, Biological Psychology.

[41]  H. Roberts,et al.  Review sectionCaffeine consumption , 1996 .

[42]  D. Batéjat,et al.  Circadian rhythm and sleep deprivation : effects on psychomotor performance , 1992 .

[43]  Jack E. Henningfield,et al.  Stimulus functions of caffeine in humans: Relation to dependence potential , 1992, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[44]  L. Goldstein,et al.  QUANTITATIVE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY IN MAN AS A MEASURE OF CNS STIMULATION * , 1963 .

[45]  D. Charney,et al.  The effects of caffeine on plasma MHPG, subjective anxiety, autonomic symptoms and blood pressure in healthy humans. , 1984, Life sciences.

[46]  G. Schreiber,et al.  Measurement of coffee and caffeine intake: implications for epidemiologic research. , 1988, Preventive medicine.

[47]  Astrid Nehlig,et al.  Caffeine and the central nervous system: mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic and psychostimulant effects , 1992, Brain Research Reviews.

[48]  A. Wing,et al.  Effects of sleep deprivation on short duration performance measures compared to the Wilkinson auditory vigilance task. , 1978, Sleep.

[49]  R. Post,et al.  Caffeine: relationship to human anxiety, plasma MHPG and cortisol. , 1984, Psychopharmacology bulletin.

[50]  R. Beninger,et al.  Caffeine-induced place and taste conditioning: Production of dose-dependent preference and aversion , 1991, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[51]  Wing Hong Loke,et al.  Effects of caffeine on mood and memory , 1988, Physiology & Behavior.

[52]  Roland R. Griffiths,et al.  Reinforcing properties of caffeine: Studies in humans and laboratory animals , 1988, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[53]  E. Weiller,et al.  Antagonism by modafinil of the psychomotor and cognitive impairment induced by sleep-deprivation in 12 healthy volunteers , 1991, European Psychiatry.

[54]  Karl Bättig,et al.  Action profiles of smoking and caffeine: Stroop effect, EEG, and peripheral physiology , 1992, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[55]  J. Stroop.  Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. , 1992 .

[56]  T. Porkka-Heiskanen,et al.  The effect of REM sleep deprivation on somatostatin and growth hormone‐releasing hormone gene expression in the rat hypothalamus , 1996, Journal of sleep research.