The DOI matches its Crossref record; 58 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Effects of caffeine on performance and mood: withdrawal reversal is the most plausible explanation
Abstract
Rationale Although it is widely believed that caffeine can enhance human performance and mood, the validity of this belief has been questioned, giving rise to debate. The central question is whether superior performance and mood after caffeine represent net benefits, or whether differences between caffeine and control conditions are due to reversal of adverse withdrawal effects.Objectives To provide a focussed review of relevant experimental studies with the aim of clarifying current understanding regarding the effects of caffeine on human performance and mood.Methods To avoid the shortcomings of standard placebo-controlled studies, which are ambiguous due to failure to control for the confounding influence of withdrawal reversal, three main experimental approaches have been employed: studies that compare consumers and low/non-consumers, pre-treatment and ad lib consumption studies, and long-term withdrawal studies.Results Of the three approaches, only long-term withdrawal studies are capable of unambiguously revealing the net effects of caffeine. Overall, there is little evidence of caffeine having beneficial effects on performance or mood under conditions of long-term caffeine use vs abstinence. Although modest acute effects may occur following initial use, tolerance to these effects appears to develop in the context of habitual use of the drug.Conclusions Appropriately controlled studies show that the effects of caffeine on performance and mood, widely perceived to be net beneficial psychostimulant effects, are almost wholly attributable to reversal of adverse withdrawal effects associated with short periods of abstinence from the drug.
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“In fact, studies that have employed long-term caffeine withdrawal methodology have consistently failed to find cognitive enhancing effects of acute caffeine (78–82).”
From The Safety of Ingested Caffeine: A Comprehensive Review (2017) · cites this paper as [79]
Citations
Cites
Effects of caffeine on human behavior
Smith, A. (2002) · Food and Chemical Toxicology · doi:10.1016/s0278-6915(02)00096-0 · Cited by 741
Juliano, L. M., & Griffiths, R. R. (2004) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x · Cited by 613
Tolerance to the humoral and hemodynamic effects of caffeine in man.
Robertson, D., Wade, D., Workman, R., Woosley, R. L., & Oates, J. A. (1981) · Journal of Clinical Investigation · doi:10.1172/jci110124 · Cited by 501 · cited 1×
“partial tolerance of caffeine-induced increases in blood pressure), it has generally be found to plateau within 3 to 5 days of continuous use (Robertson et al. 1981; Denaro et al. 1991; James 1994b).”
BackgroundThe effects of low doses of caffeine on human performance and mood
Lieberman, H. R., Wurtman, R. J., Emde, G. G., Roberts, C., & Coviella, I. L. G. (1987) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/bf00210835 · Cited by 413
Haskell, C. F., Kennedy, D. O., Wesnes, K. A., & Scholey, A. B. (2005) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-004-2104-3 · Cited by 356
Smit, H. J., & Rogers, P. J. (2000) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s002130000506 · Cited by 339
Self-citationAssociation between A2a receptor gene polymorphisms and caffeine-induced anxiety
Alsene, K., Deckert, J., Sand, P., & de Wit, H. (2003) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300232 · Cited by 334
The Principles of Addiction Medicine
Karch, S. B. (2007) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9781420054446-5 · Cited by 331
Principles of Addiction Medicine
Matthews, A. (2004) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.291.1.112-b · Cited by 278
James, J. E. (2004) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/10.psy.0000107884.78247.f9 · Cited by 232
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Rogers PJ, Stephens S, Day JEL (1998) Contrasting performance effects of caffeine after overnight and chronic caffeine withdrawal. J Psychopharmacol 12:A13
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Caffeinated energy drinks a growing problem
Reissig, C. J., Strain, E. C., & Griffiths, R. R. (2009) · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.08.001 · Cited by 1,026
A Review of Caffeine’s Effects on Cognitive, Physical and Occupational Performance
McLellan, T. M., Caldwell, J. A., & Lieberman, H. R. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.001 · Cited by 840
Kennedy, D. O., & Wightman, E. L. (2011) · Advances in Nutrition · doi:10.3945/an.110.000117 · Cited by 684
Caffeine: Cognitive and Physical Performance Enhancer or Psychoactive Drug?
Cappelletti, S., Daria, P., Sani, G., & Aromatario, M. (2015) · Current Neuropharmacology · doi:10.2174/1570159x13666141210215655 · Cited by 631
“A wide range of studies in humans suggest that the cognitive benefits of caffeine are associated with relief from withdrawal symptoms, rather than with improvement in cognitive functions [9, 111, 112].”
BackgroundThe Safety of Ingested Caffeine: A Comprehensive Review
Temple, J. L., Bernard, C., Lipshultz, S. E., Czachor, J. D., Westphal, J. A., & Mestre, M. A. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00080 · Cited by 557
Metadata
- Authors
- James, J. E., & Rogers, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Corresponding author
- James, Jack E.
- Venue
- Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2005-07-02
- Volume
- 182
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-8
- ISSN
- 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-2072
- OpenAlex
- W2106760663
- Cited by
- 231
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 1.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Coffee research and impacts
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- caffeine, caffeine withdrawal, cognitive performance, mood, psychostimulants, tolerance (pharmacology and immunology), caffeine abstinence, placebo-controlled study
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Arousal, Attention, Caffeine, Drug Tolerance, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Sleep Deprivation, Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
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