Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.
ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
Mol Psychiatry. 2021 Nov;26(11):6589-6598. doi: 10.1038/s41380-021-01075-4. Epub 2021 Apr 20.
Coffee is the most widely consumed source of caffeine worldwide, partly due to the psychoactive effects of this methylxanthine. Interestingly, the effects of its chronic consumption on the brain's intrinsic functional networks are still largely unknown. This study provides the first extended characterization of the effects of chronic coffee consumption on human brain networks. Subjects were recruited and divided into two groups: habitual coffee drinkers (CD) and non-coffee drinkers (NCD). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was acquired in these volunteers who were also assessed regarding stress, anxiety, and depression scores. In the neuroimaging evaluation, the CD group showed decreased functional connectivity in the somatosensory and limbic networks during resting state as assessed with independent component analysis. The CD group also showed decreased functional connectivity in a network comprising subcortical and posterior brain regions associated with somatosensory, motor, and emotional processing as assessed with network-based statistics; moreover, CD displayed longer lifetime of a functional network involving subcortical regions, the visual network and the cerebellum. Importantly, all these differences were dependent on the frequency of caffeine consumption, and were reproduced after NCD drank coffee. CD showed higher stress levels than NCD, and although no other group effects were observed in this psychological assessment, increased frequency of caffeine consumption was also associated with increased anxiety in males. In conclusion, higher consumption of coffee and caffeinated products has an impact in brain functional connectivity at rest with implications in emotionality, alertness, and readiness to action.
咖啡是世界上最广泛消费的咖啡因来源，部分原因是这种甲基黄嘌呤的精神活性作用。有趣的是，其慢性消耗对大脑固有功能网络的影响在很大程度上仍然未知。本研究首次对慢性咖啡消耗对人类大脑网络的影响进行了扩展描述。招募了受试者并将其分为两组：习惯性咖啡饮用者（CD）和非咖啡饮用者（NCD）。这些志愿者接受了静息状态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）采集，同时还评估了他们的压力、焦虑和抑郁评分。在神经影像学评估中，与独立成分分析评估的静息状态相比，CD 组显示出躯体感觉和边缘网络的功能连接减少。CD 组还显示出与躯体感觉、运动和情绪处理相关的皮质下和后脑区域组成的网络的功能连接减少，网络基于统计学评估；此外，CD 还显示出与皮质下区域、视觉网络和小脑有关的功能网络的寿命更长。重要的是，所有这些差异都取决于咖啡因的消耗频率，并且在 NCD 喝咖啡后可以重现。CD 组的压力水平高于 NCD 组，尽管在这项心理评估中没有观察到其他组的影响，但咖啡因消耗频率的增加也与男性焦虑增加有关。总之，更高的咖啡和含咖啡因产品的消耗对静息状态下的大脑功能连接有影响，这对情感、警觉和行动准备有影响。
