Coffee and cake are good for the brain
Francis Sedgemore, Wednesday 24 November 2010 at 11:53 UTC
Scientists in Catalonia have found that the bourgeois world’s favourite drug caffeine improves cognitive ability, especially when taken in combination with glucose. The ‘active ingredients’ of coffee and cake have a synergistic effect, say the researchers, who report their findings in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental.
According to psychobiologist Josep Serra-Grabulosa…
“Our main finding is that the combination of the two substances improves cognitive performance in terms of sustained attention and working memory by increasing the efficiency of the areas of the brain responsible for these two functions.”
Serra-Grabulosa’s claim about increased efficiency arises from an observed reduction in activity in the bilateral parietal cortex of the brains of experimental subjects who had consumed caffeine and glucose together. This is compared with others who had consumed either a placebo, or caffeine and glucose alone.
The neurological basis for the reported effect is unknown, but the economic and dietary implications are clear enough. Lattes and gâteau all round!
Further reading: Serra-Grabulosa et al., “Glucose and caffeine effects on sustained attention: an exploratory fMRI study”, Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental (2010)
Feed the writer! 
Wednesday 24 November 2010 at 12:54 UTC
[...] And now for some good news: Francis Sedgemore – Coffee and cake are good for the brain [...]
Wednesday 24 November 2010 at 14:18 UTC
Excellent news… Triple Espresso and a big slice of carrot cake for me!
Wednesday 24 November 2010 at 14:25 UTC
Jams, you big wus – real bloggers drink beer, not espresso! After all, it’s not as if enhanced cognitive ability is required of online scribblers. And don’t get me started on carrot cake; you can leave that muck to the Grauniadistas. Bleh!
Thursday 25 November 2010 at 15:07 UTC
No thanks to you, Francis. In my mood today I really didn’t need another example of how some people pull their doctoral degrees out of their arses by boldly stepping into the field of researching the obvious.
What next? Tendency of starving people to perk up when fed?
Thursday 25 November 2010 at 17:17 UTC
That’s not fair, Snoopy. It looks to me like a useful bit of research, even if the published results are preliminary.
Saturday 27 November 2010 at 23:18 UTC
Mycobacterium vaccae, though not so tasty, is also beneficial. Moral: don’t wash hands before eating cakes and coffee.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100524143416.htm
Saturday 27 November 2010 at 23:22 UTC
So eating cake with dirty hands can reduce the anxiety that arises from consuming such a sinful foodstuff? Splendid!