Bougrine Houda, Ammar Achraf, Salem Atef, Trabelsi Khaled, Jahrami Haitham, Chtourou Hamdi, Souissi Nizar
High Institute of Sport and Physical Education Gafsa, Gafsa University, Gafsa 2100, Tunisia.
Physical Activity, Sport and Health Research Unit (UR18JS01), National Observatory of Sports, Tunis 1003, Tunisia.
Brain Sci. 2024 Mar 15;14(3):280. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14030280.
Caffeine (CAF), a prevalent psychoactive stimulant, is believed to potentially enhance cognitive ability. However, studies on the effects of various doses are limited and yield inconsistent results, particularly in female athletes. Therefore, we aimed to assess the association between three different dosages of CAF intake (low, moderate, and high) and cognitive skills in female athletes with low CAF consumption. This study had a randomized, crossover, double-blind design in which each athlete performed four experimental sessions after ingesting either a placebo (PLAC), 3 mg·kg of CAF (3 mg of CAF), 6 mg·kg of CAF (6 mg of CAF), or 9 mg·kg of CAF (9 mg of CAF) with an in-between washout period of at least 72 h. Following a 60 min window post-capsule consumption, fourteen female athletes (age: 17.4 ± 0.8 years) were assessed through various cognitive tests, namely, simple reaction time (SRT), choice reaction time (CRT), and attentional task (AT) tests, along with the mental rotation test (MRT). Additionally, they were required to complete a questionnaire about the undesirable side effects of CAF. Our results indicated that, compared to those of PLAC, the SRT, CRT, and AT performance were significantly improved following the administration of both 3 mg of CAF and 6 mg of CAF. While the greatest enhancement was observed after consuming mg of , no significant differences were found between the effects of 3 mg and 6 mg of CAF. Interestingly, MRT performance did not improve with any of the CAF dosages. Moreover, the ingestion of 9 mg of CAF did not enhance cognitive skills and was linked to the highest occurrence of CAF-related side effects. In conclusion, our results highlight the recommendation for a low CAF dosage of 3 mg·kg, in contrast to a higher dose of 6 mg·kg or 9 mg·kg of CAF, to enhance various aspects of cognitive performance in female athletes with low CAF consumption without adverse side effects.
咖啡因（CAF）是一种普遍存在的精神活性兴奋剂，据信可能会提高认知能力。然而，关于不同剂量影响的研究有限，结果也不一致，尤其是在女性运动员中。因此，我们旨在评估三种不同剂量的CAF摄入（低、中、高）与低CAF摄入量的女性运动员认知技能之间的关联。本研究采用随机、交叉、双盲设计，每位运动员在摄入安慰剂（PLAC）、3毫克/千克的CAF（3毫克CAF）、6毫克/千克的CAF（6毫克CAF）或9毫克/千克的CAF（9毫克CAF）后进行四个实验环节，中间间隔至少72小时的洗脱期。在服用胶囊后的60分钟内，对14名女性运动员（年龄：17.4±0.8岁）进行了各种认知测试，即简单反应时间（SRT）、选择反应时间（CRT）和注意力任务（AT）测试，以及心理旋转测试（MRT）。此外，她们还被要求完成一份关于CAF不良副作用的问卷。我们的结果表明，与PLAC相比，服用3毫克CAF和6毫克CAF后，SRT、CRT和AT表现均有显著改善。虽然在摄入 毫克的 后观察到最大程度的提高，但3毫克和6毫克CAF的效果之间未发现显著差异。有趣的是，任何剂量的CAF都未使MRT表现得到改善。此外，摄入9毫克CAF并未提高认知技能，且与CAF相关副作用的发生率最高有关。总之，我们的结果强调，对于低CAF摄入量的女性运动员，推荐3毫克/千克的低CAF剂量，与6毫克/千克或9毫克/千克的高剂量CAF相比，可提高认知表现的各个方面且无不良副作用。
