Effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine-glucose combination on cognitive performance and mood during multi-tasking

Scholey, A; Savage, K; O'Neill, BV; Owen, LJ; Stough, C; Priestley, C; Wetherell, M

Abstract

Background: This study assessed the effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine–glucose combination on mood and performance of an
ecologically valid, computerised multi-tasking platform.
Materials and methods: Following a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, parallel-groups design, 150 healthy adults (mean age
34.78 years) consumed drinks containing placebo, 25 g glucose, 60 g glucose or 60 g glucose with 40 mg caffeine. They completed a multitasking
framework at baseline and then 30 min following drink consumption with mood assessments immediately before and after the multitasking
framework. Blood glucose and salivary caffeine were co-monitored.
Results: The caffeine–glucose group had significantly better total multi-tasking scores than the placebo or 60 g glucose groups and were
significantly faster at mental arithmetic tasks than either glucose drink group. There were no significant treatment effects on mood. Caffeine
and glucose levels confirmed compliance with overnight abstinence/fasting, respectively, and followed the predicted post-drink patterns.
Conclusion: These data suggest that co-administration of glucose and caffeine allows greater allocation of attentional resources than
placebo or glucose alone. At present, we cannot rule out the possibility that the effects are due to caffeine alone Future studies should aim
at disentangling caffeine and glucose effects

Citation

Scholey, A., Savage, K., O'Neill, B., Owen, L., Stough, C., Priestley, C., & Wetherell, M. (2014). Effects of two doses of glucose and a caffeine-glucose combination on cognitive performance and mood during multi-tasking. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 29(5), 434-445. https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2417

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 12, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jul 28, 2014
• Publication Date: Jul 28, 2014
• Deposit Date: Feb 11, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 11, 2019
• Journal: Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
• Print ISSN: 0885-6222
• Publisher: Wiley
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 434-445
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2417
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2417
• Related Public URLs: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10991077
• Additional Information: Grant Number: DP1093834