Theanine and Caffeine on Neurophysiology of Attention

Completed · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: L-theanine

In brief

L-theanine and caffeine are nutritional compounds that are naturally found in tea. Our recent findings using an EEG paradigm are consistent with the findings of others, indicating that intake of L-theanine and caffeine reduce the time needed for a person to differentiate between two visual stimuli and react to only one stimulus. In order to understand how these compounds give rise to these improvements, the investigators need to study how these compounds are related to various areas of the brain. To achieve this, the investigators plan to scan the brains of nine participants after they take either 1) L-theanine alone, 2) caffeine alone 3) the combination of both L-theanine and caffeine as compared with a placebo (distilled water), to see which has the greatest impact on attention and on regions in the brain that bring about attention.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02770105

Run by

Texas Tech University

People needed

9

Starts

2016-05-01

Expected to finish

2016-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2016-09-02

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 60. Sex: male. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy males*
• Age 18-60 years

You may not qualify if…

• Gross impairment of vision or hearing that would prevent the participants from recognizing visual stimuli
• Physical, psychiatric or neurological impairment that could affect cognitive or motor functions
• Exposure to toxins or substances that are known to affect visual, auditory, cognitive or motor functions
• Regular intake of medication that could alter visual, auditory, cognitive or motor functions
• History of and / or current alcohol and / or drug abuse
• Disease or condition known to be precipitated or aggravated by tea or coffee
• Intake of drugs containing caffeine, other phosphodiesterase inhibitors or adenosine receptor blockers
• Intake of medications which are known to have pharmacological interactions with caffeine
• Participants with contra-indications to undergo fMRI scanning
• Unwilling or unable to discontinue the use of cell phones, smart phones or other electronic devices during the entire study visit.

Where it is running

• Texas Tech University - Department of Nutritional Sciences — Lubbock, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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