The Hershey Company is interested in investigating the effects of various chocolate beverages on brain physiology and cognitive function. The main substances in the drinks that are known to influence the brain are caffeine (and related chemicals such as theobromine) and flavonoids. Flavonoids are chemical found in plants and are most commonly associated with antioxidant activity. Caffeine, chemicals related to caffeine, and flavonoids are all naturally occurring and all potentially alter brain physiology. This study will evaluate changes in brain blood flow and cognition following the consumption of drinks with various combinations of the Primary Ingredients. Caffeine is likely to have peak effects within 1-hour of ingesting the chocolate while the flavonoids are likely to have peak effects 3-4 hours after ingestion. The study proposed here will evaluate ingredients in a 4-arm cross-over double-blind design in an attempt to understand the differential effects of these compounds in chocolate drinks.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
6
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
Change in Working Memory (% correct)
N-Back Task
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
Change in Response Time (milliseconds)
Simple Response Time Task
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
Change in Short Term Memory (# correct)
Hopkins Verbal Learning Task (HVLT)
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
Change in Mood (change in Likert scale score)
Profile of Mood Status(POMS)
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
Change in Attention (% accuracy)
Eriksen Flanker Task
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
Change in Executive Function (# correct)
Stroop Task
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
Change in Brain Blood Flow (ml/g/min)
Non-invasive brain perfusion measured with arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging
Time frame: 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
% Change in Heart Rate (beats/minute)
pulse
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
% Change in Respiration (breaths/minute)
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
% Change in Blood Pressure (mmHg)
Time frame: before, 1 hour and 3 hours post beverage
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