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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.
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Recruitment: Participants will be recruited through advertisements in social media, electronic and hardcopy noticeboards at Texas Tech University (e.g. Tech Announce, campus bulletin boards), local media (e.g. newspapers), web-based media (e.g. Craig's list) and flyers placed on bulletin boards off campus. Nine participants will be recruited after screening for the following inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Pre-Screening (Telephone): Individuals who express an interest in participating will be contacted by a graduate or an undergraduate research assistant who will administer a structured telephone interview to: 1) provide information related to the requirements of the study, along with potential risks and benefits 2) Screen for eligibility based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. All potential subjects will be informed that their responses will remain confidential and that taking part in the screening interview in no way obligates them to participate.
The first 9 participants who meet eligibility criteria will be scheduled for their appointments (at Texas Tech Neuroimaging Institute; TTNI) immediately or within 48 hours of the telephone conversation depending on the discretion of each potential participant. Each participant will be required to complete 5 visits to TTNI, scheduled at least 5 days apart, in order to complete their participation in the study. The first visit will be 45 minutes in length and each of the 4 subsequent visits will be 90 minutes in length. The participants will be given the right to withdraw from the study at any point. In the event that a screened and included participant should discontinue the study prematurely, additional subjects will be recruited to maintain study total at 9 completers. Since the study is a cross-over design, all participants will be exposed to all experimental conditions (i.e. theanine, caffeine, TC and distilled water) in a random order.
Measurements:
Data Collection Protocol: All recruited participants will be scheduled for 5 visits at the TTNI within 48 hours of receipt and subsequent evaluation of the prescreening material for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants will be reminded of the visits via email / telephone (per their stated preference) at both 1 week and again 1 day prior to each visit. The visits will be scheduled at least 5 days apart.
First Visit: Prescreening, Consent and Training:
Preparation and Administration of Substances: L-theanine and caffeine will be purchased in purified powder form from a registered supplier. Both substances will be stored in air-tight packing prior to preparation for administration according to manufacturer's recommendations. All solutions will be prepared for administration maintaining the highest possible standards of hygiene. Each solution of L-theanine will be made by dissolving 200mg of theanine powder in 200ml of distilled water. Each solution of caffeine will be made by dissolving 160mg of caffeine powder. Both L-theanine and caffeine powder (200mg and 160mg respectively) will be dissolved in a 200ml aliquot of distilled water to form each solution of TC. Two-hundred milliliters of distilled water will be used as the placebo. Each solution will be prepared within 4 hours of scheduled time of administration and stored in a disposable, clean, opaque, cup with a lid. The participants will be instructed to consume the solution completely upon administration.
Preparation of participants for the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Visits: All recruited participants will be instructed to strictly adhere to the following guidelines prior to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th visits in order to minimize confounding of the results.
Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Visits: Administration of Substances and MRI Scanning:
Analysis: RVRT will be compared across the four conditions (theanine, caffeine, TC and placebo) constructing a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) model using the R-statistical software. Subsequently, pair-wise comparisons of RVRT will be performed between the four conditions, maintaining the family-wise error rate at 0.05. Following sequence of operations will be conducted on the fMRI data using the FMRIB software library (FSL): visual examination, distortion correction, motion correction, slice timing correction, spatial smoothing and statistical analysis. BOLD responses will be compared across the four conditions by constructing ANOVA models at a whole brain level as well as in the regions of anterior cingulate cortex and antero-medial prefrontal cortex. Pair-wise comparisons of BOLD responses will also be conducted between the conditions. RVRT, omissions and errors will be included as covariates in fMRI analysis.
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