The team pursued the following research question: “Does the energy blend contained in energy drinks improve a person’s P300 amplitude and latency time on visual attention tasks compared to caffeine alone?”ģ1 Centre College undergraduate students were screened for skin, caffeine and artificial sweetener sensitivities, along with vision and attention disorders, prior caffeine consumption and sleep history. “It’s been used quite a bit in other studies looking at caffeine, as an indicator showing that caffeine does increase arousal and alertness levels,” Skogsberg said, since P300 activity increased in magnitude after intake. Ruijter, Loris, Snel & Ruiter (2000) found that fatigued subjects produced a larger P300 after consuming caffeine compared to a placebo, suggesting caffeine increased arousal levels and the ability to recognize and respond to the stimulus. Skogsberg described P300 as “the workhorse of visual attention research”, and said it was used to recognize a stimulus deemed to be rare and particularly meaningful (Luck 2005). ‘We cannot comment on the student research’: 5-Hour EnergyĮlaine Lutz, from 5-Hour Energy’s distributor Living Essentials LLC, responded thus, telling : “We cannot comment on the student research, since we, like you, have not seen the unpublished small sample research in full, its methodology or what peer review process the research may or may not have undergone.”Īnd Lutz cited a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover scientific study subject to Institutional Review Board (IRB) review, showing that 5-Hour Energy increased alertness and cognitive function in a group consuming the supplement over a five-hour plus period, versus a control group given a placebo.Īfter being prompted by her husband, who asked her whether energy drinks really worked, Skogsberg said she and her team decided to test the effects of 5-Hour Energy’s ‘energy blend’ (vitamins B6, B12, Niacin, Folic Acid, Tyrosine, Taurine) using electroencephalographic (EEG) equipment to measure brainwave activity.ĭouble-blind study measures P300 brainwaveĪccordingly, the scientists designed a double-blind study to measure levels of a specific brain wave involved in decision making called ‘P300’, to find out if energy drinks improve reaction times better than caffeine alone. We need more research, more ‘takes’ on it,” she said. Skogsberg said her team found many studies on the effects of caffeine on brain activity and reaction time in the research literature, but none on energy drinks or shots, with publications in this space treating how participants reported feeling – as opposed to recording objective measures.ĭiscussing the preliminary study’s eye-catching results, unveiled at a recent poster presentation, Skogsberg nonetheless urged caution: “This is a preliminary study using a small sample size, so the first and most important step is to replicate it, using more participants, and even have more labs replicate our research. KatieAnn Skogsberg (below) assistant professor of psychology and behavioural neuroscience, led a student research team at Kentucky-based Centre College to complete this study, and told yesterday that she was surprised by the lack of scientific attention devoted to the lucrative US energy drinks industry. Packaging & Packing Materials, Containers.Processing Equipment & Systems, Automation, Control.Filling & Packaging Equipment & Systems.
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