Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Caffeine has far-reaching effects on the brain. This is not unexpected, since it is America’s drug of choice for an early morning lift. However, a heavy price is paid for that stimulation. Let us look at how caffeine works and then explore some of its associated side effects.

Caffeine impinges on the brain’s communication system in a number of ways. In exploring these relationships, we need to recall that brain cells talk to one another through chemical interchanges. Nerve cells release chemicals called neurotransmitters (or “chemical messengers”) that are picked up by neighboring cells. These neurotransmitters then cause changes to occur in the cell that receives them. Some neurotransmitters cause stimulation of the recipient nerve cell, while others cause depression. Caffeine’s widespread influence focuses primarily on its ability to affect the levels of two transmitters: acetylcholine and adenosine. Caffeine disrupts the brain chemistry by increasing the level of acetylcholine and interfering with the transmission of adenosine. Thus, caffeine upsets the delicate balance of nerve transmission in the brain, which may have devastating consequences. Adenosine tones down (or puts the brakes on) many aspects of brain nerve transmission. But caffeine weakens its power to do its work, thus allowing artificial stimulation of the brain from the caffeine.

To a lay person, adenosine may seem like a “bad guy.” After all, who wants to depress their brain transmission? Perhaps we can see this issue more clearly by looking at an analogy: the importance of good brakes on an automobile. You do not get into your automobile to stop—you get into it to go somewhere. However, you would not feel comfortable driving a car that did not have the capacity to stop. Good brakes are essential—especially on a vehicle designed to go. Similarly, neurotransmitters like adenosine that have a large role in “putting the brakes on” are very important for balance in the brain. There are serious concerns in the psychiatric literature about caffeine’s role in “unbalancing” the mind. Caffeine has been linked with anxiety, anxiety neurosis, psychosis (a state where a person loses touch with reality), and schizophrenia, the so-called “split personality” disorder.46 Other researchers add to this list caffeine-induced delirium and anorexia nervosa. 

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