New research explains how coffee affects the brain without addiction

Us media say there is no denying that caffeine gives us a boost, and new research shows how coffee gives us a boost.

According to a report on VOA Radio on Aug. 14, Dr. Nora Volco of the National Institute of Drug abuse says it's all in your head. The neuroscientist has spent his life studying how drugs affect the brain, including recent research on caffeine.

"it makes us feel better, especially if we don't sleep or work late into the night," she said. It helps us concentrate. We don't fully understand why.

To unravel the mystery of people's obsession with coffee, Volco recruited some volunteers to swallow caffeine tablets-the equivalent of drinking two or three cups of espresso.

She and her colleagues then used PET scanners to track excited brain activity.

Like other drugs, caffeine "enhances" the natural activity of a brain chemical called dopamine.

Heroin and cocaine release large amounts of dopamine, which can lead to addiction. Caffeine works in a slightly different way. It increases the number of sensory cells that dopamine catches, which makes us feel active and alert, but has less control over the brain.

"in fact, caffeine does not have the disastrous consequences of obsessive-compulsive patterns after the use of other drugs, so in this respect, caffeine is not as addictive as drugs," Dr. Volco said. "

So, the good news is, as long as you want to stop drinking coffee, you can do it, with only mild discomfort.

But if you need a quick pick-me-up, it doesn't matter if you start a new day without quitting coffee.