Caffeine and Memory - Friends or Foes?

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that caffeine decreases the number of items recalled in a memory task (Terry & Phifer, 1986). The current study examined the effect of caffeine on the recall of words as well as factual and conceptual memory. Undergraduate college students were asked to complete three memory tasks after taking either a placebo or a 200mg caffeine pill. The first memory task included a version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), where students were asked to recall as many words from a 16-item list. Additionally, students also watched a TED talk and answered nine factual and conceptual questions on the talk. The results failed to find a significant effect between the caffeine or placebo groups and their memory task scores. Future studies should evaluate the effect of caffeine on immediate recall and investigate the potential difference of caffeine on gender.