(Web Desk) - Many of us enjoy a cup of coffee as an early morning pick-me-up, but caffeine's powers could extend far beyond an alertness boost.
Researchers have found that the stimulant can protect against and reverse memory deficits brought on by sleep deprivation in mice.
The researchers, from the National University of Singapore (NUS), focused on the CA2 region of the hippocampus part of the brain, known to be important in social memory – in this case, a mouse's ability to recognize another mouse they'd seen before.
As predicted, mice who were deliberately kept awake proved much worse at identifying other mice they'd previously encountered.
However, when a group of mice were given steady doses of caffeine for a week before being sleep deprived, there wasn't the same poor performance in terms of social memory.
What's more, when caffeine was applied to brain tissue taken from sleep-deprived mice – even if they'd not been given caffeine beforehand – the researchers found the drug helped to improve signaling in the CA2 region.
"Sleep deprivation does not just make you tired," says NUS physiologist Lik-Wei Wong.
"It selectively disrupts important memory circuits."
"We found that caffeine can reverse these disruptions at both the molecular and behavioral levels. Its ability to do so suggests that caffeine's benefits may extend beyond simply helping us stay awake."
It's been well established that a lack of sleep can interfere with memory consolidation, as well as increasing the risk of a host of other negative effects on our health, but the links between social memory and sleep haven't been extensively studied before.
The analysis carried out by the researchers showed that sleep deprivation increased brain signaling relating to a chemical called adenosine, which both encourages sleep and, as shown in other mouse studies, may dial down memory-making circuits.
Past research has shown caffeine can dampen this signaling, which was shown to be the case here too.
What this study adds is a more precise look at how sleep deprivation and caffeine influence social memory, and the specific brain wiring involved. That gives scientists a much better idea of the interplay between sleep, memory, and caffeine.