No evidence for latent learning of liking for flavours conditioned by caffeine

Epinephrine modulates memory of latent learning in an inhibitory avoidance task

The present study examined the memory modulatory effect of epinephrine on latent learning of an inhibitory avoidance task. Male Sprague-Dawley rats on the first day were subjected to one of three conditions (no, short or long) in pre-exposure to the task apparatus. One day or several days later, they received the typical inhibitory avoidance training with a 0.5 mA/0.5 s foot shock. Memory of the inhibitory avoidance response was tested one day after the foot-shock training. The long pre-exposure group showed better memory than the no or short pre-exposure group, and this latent memory could last for 6 days: Retention scores of the long pre-exposure group were significantly better than those of the no pre-exposure group if the shock training was given 3 or 6 days, but not 12 or 21 days, after the pre-exposure. Epinephrine injected after the pre-exposure training modulated the latent memory in a dose- and time-dependent manner: 0.01 mg/kg given shortly after the short pre-exposure enhanced the memory, but 0.5 mg/kg given shortly after the long pre-exposure impaired it. Epinephrine injected 4 h after the pre-exposure had no effect, neither did that given to rats pre-exposed to a different context. Epinephrine (0.01 mg/kg) also made the latent memory lasting longer as the rats treated with it showed significant avoidance behavior when they had the shock training at 12 or 21 days after the pre-exposure. These findings suggest that epinephrine could modulate memory formed in the latent learning.

Flavour Liking and Preference Conditioned by Caffeine in Humans

When caffeine consumers repeatedly experience a novel flavoured drink containing caffeine, the rated pleasantness of the drink flavour increases progressively. These results could be interpreted in terms of the flavour acting as a Pavlovian conditioned stimulus (CS) predicting the consequences of caffeine ingestion. However, all studies of this phenomenon to date have used between-subjects designs, and one criticism of this is that changes in pleasantness might have arisen from nonspecific effects. A more rigorous test is to examine changes in pleasantness for two drinks, a CS+ flavour paired with caffeine and CS− paired with placebo. Accordingly, 20 moderate caffeine consumers consumed both CS+ and CS− drinks in counterbalanced order over eight conditioning trials at breakfast, with hedonic and sensory characteristics evaluated on each trial. As predicted, the rated pleasantness of the CS+ drink increased whereas pleasantness of the CS− drink did not change. Despite this, participants did not have an overall preference for the CS+ flavour posttraining. However, both those who chose the CS+ and those who chose the CS− at the end showed the same direction and rate of change in pleasantness for the two drinks during training, but spurious differences in baseline preference obscured this effect in terms of an overall change in preference. Overall these data suggest that changes in pleasantness of drinks paired with caffeine delivery are best explained in terms of Pavlovian associations between drink flavour and the postingestive effects of caffeine.

Caffeine Deprivation State Modulates Expression of Acquired Liking for Caffeine-Paired Flavours

Previous studies found that caffeine consumers acquired a liking for the flavour of novel caffeinated drinks when these drinks were consumed repeatedly in a caffeine-deprived, but not nondeprived, state. Expression of this acquired liking appeared acutely sensitive to current caffeine deprivation state, but the use of between-subjects designs confounded interpretation of those studies. The present study evaluated these findings further using a within-subject design, with one flavour paired with caffeine (CS +) and the second with the absence of caffeine (CS–). During four CS + and four CS– training days, 32 moderate caffeine consumers alternatively consumed a novel flavoured drink a CS + paired with caffeine and a CS– flavour paired with placebo. Participants evaluated both drinks before and after training in two motivational states: caffeine deprived and nondeprived. As predicted, pleasantness ratings for the caffeine-paired flavour increased overall. However, this acquired liking was only significant when tested in a caffeine-deprived state. These data are consistent with a conditioned-flavour preference model and imply that expression of acquired liking for a novel caffeinated flavour depends on the need for the effects of caffeine at the time when the drink is evaluated.

Caffeine use in children: what we know, what we have left to learn, and why we should worry

Caffeine is a widely used psychoactive substance in both adults and children that is legal, easy to obtain, and socially acceptable to consume. Although once relatively restricted to use among adults, caffeine-containing drinks are now consumed regularly by children. In addition, some caffeine-containing beverages are specifically marketed to children as young as 4 years of age. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the effects of caffeine use on behavior and physiology of children remains understudied and poorly understood. The purpose of this article is to review what is known about caffeine use in children and adolescents, to discuss why children and adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of caffeine, and to propose how caffeine consumption within this population may potentiate the rewarding properties of other substances. The following topics are reviewed: (1) tolerance and addiction to caffeine, (2) sensitization and cross-sensitization to the effects of caffeine, (3) caffeine self-administration and reinforcing value, and (4) conditioning of preferences for caffeine-containing beverages in both adults and children.

Additive effects of flavour–caffeine and flavour–flavour pairings on liking for the smell and flavour of a novel drink

Previous research has established that caffeine consumption can reinforce changes in liking for caffeine-paired flavours, while pairing a novel flavour with a liked or dislike taste can also result in enduring changes in liking for the flavour. The present study examined how these two forms of flavour-learning interact. 72 habitual caffeine consumers who liked sweet tastes rated the odour and flavour of a novel tea drink before and after four training sessions where the flavour was paired with either 100 mg caffeine or placebo in one of three flavour contexts: added sweetness (aspartame), bitterness (quinine) or control. The liking for both the odour and flavour of the tea increased after pairing with caffeine regardless of flavour context, while pairing with bitterness reduced flavour liking regardless of the presence of caffeine. Pairing with quinine increased the rated bitterness of the tea odour, and reduced the rated sweetness of the tea flavour, post-training, independent of effects of caffeine. These data suggest that flavour-caffeine and flavour-flavour associations have additive effects on drink liking, while confirming that flavour-flavour associations can alter the immediate sensory experience of a flavour alone.

Effects of hunger state on flavour pleasantness conditioning at home: Flavour–nutrient learning vs. flavour–flavour learning

This study examined acquired liking of flavour preferences through flavour-flavour and flavour-nutrient learning under hungry or sated conditions in a naturalistic setting. Each participant consumed one of three versions of a test drink at home either before lunch or after lunch: minimally sweetened (

CONTROL

3% sucrose, 40 kcal), artificially sweetened (3% sucrose 40 kcal plus artificial sweeteners ASPARTAME) and sucrose-sweetened (SUCROSE: 9.9% sugar, 132 kcal). The test drink was an uncarbonated peach-flavoured iced tea served in visually identical drink cans (330 ml). Participants preselected as "sweet likers" evaluated the minimally sweetened flavoured drink (conditioned stimulus, CS) in the same state (hungry or sated) in which they consumed the test drink at home. Overall, liking for the CS flavour increased in participants who consumed the SUCROSE drink, however, this increase in liking was significantly larger when tested and trained hungry than sated, consistent with a flavour-nutrient model. Overall increases in pleasantness for the CS flavour in participants who consumed the SUCROSE drink when sated or the ASPARTAME drink independent of hunger state, suggest that flavour-flavour learning also occurred. These results are discussed in light of current learning models of flavour preference.

Attentional bias for caffeine-related stimuli in high but not moderate or non-caffeine consumers

RATIONALE

Attentional bias for drug-related cues has been reported with a wide range of drugs, but to date the extent to which caffeine consumers show similar biases for caffeine-related stimuli has not been tested. The present study therefore examined this issue in terms of differences in attentional bias for caffeine-related words in High, Moderate and Non-caffeine consumers using a dot-probe word task following overnight caffeine abstinence.

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to test whether caffeine consumers show an attentional bias for caffeine-related words, and whether such biases relate to habitual levels of caffeine use.

METHODS

Sixteen High, Moderate and Non-consumers of caffeine were asked to complete a modified dot-probe task in order to measure attentional bias for caffeine-related relative to neutral control word groups. The task was completed following overnight caffeine abstinence, and participants also completed mood and caffeine-craving measures.

RESULTS

The High consumer group showed a significant attentional bias for the caffeine-related words, but no such bias was seen in Moderate or Non-consumer groups. As expected, craving for caffeine was strongest in the High consumers and weakest in the Non-consumers. Attentional bias in the High group correlated with self-reported caffeine consumption and with craving for caffeine, but neither effect was significant in the Moderate group.

CONCLUSIONS

These data confirm that High caffeine consumers show attentional bias for caffeine-related stimuli, consistent with current theories of drug addiction.

A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features

RATIONALE

Although reports of caffeine withdrawal in the medical literature date back more than 170 years, the most rigorous experimental investigations of the phenomenon have been conducted only recently.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the literature regarding human caffeine withdrawal to empirically validate specific symptoms and signs, and to appraise important features of the syndrome.

METHODS

A literature search identified 57 experimental and 9 survey studies on caffeine withdrawal that met inclusion criteria. The methodological features of each study were examined to assess the validity of the effects.

RESULTS

Of 49 symptom categories identified, the following 10 fulfilled validity criteria: headache, fatigue, decreased energy/activeness, decreased alertness, drowsiness, decreased contentedness, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability, and foggy/not clearheaded. In addition, flu-like symptoms, nausea/vomiting, and muscle pain/stiffness were judged likely to represent valid symptom categories. In experimental studies, the incidence of headache was 50% and the incidence of clinically significant distress or functional impairment was 13%. Typically, onset of symptoms occurred 12-24 h after abstinence, with peak intensity at 20-51 h, and for a duration of 2-9 days. In general, the incidence or severity of symptoms increased with increases in daily dose; abstinence from doses as low as 100 mg/day produced symptoms. Research is reviewed indicating that expectancies are not a prime determinant of caffeine withdrawal and that avoidance of withdrawal symptoms plays a central role in habitual caffeine consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

The caffeine-withdrawal syndrome has been well characterized and there is sufficient empirical evidence to warrant inclusion of caffeine withdrawal as a disorder in the DSM and revision of diagnostic criteria in the ICD.

Does dietary learning occur outside awareness?

Several forms of dietary learning have been identified in humans. These include flavor-flavor learning, flavor-postingestive learning (including flavor-caffeine learning), and learned satiety. Generally, learning is thought to occur in the absence of contingency (CS-US) or demand awareness. However, a review of the literature suggests that this conclusion may be premature because measures of awareness lack the rigor that is found in studies of other kinds of human learning. If associations do configure outside awareness then this should be regarded as a rare instance of automatic learning. Conversely, if awareness is important, then successful learning may be governed by an individual's beliefs and predilection to attend to stimulus relationships. For researchers of dietary learning this could be critical because it might explain why learning paradigms have a reputation for being unreliable. Since most food preferences are learned, asking questions about awareness can also tell us something fundamental about everyday dietary control.

Caffeine reinforces flavour preference in caffeine-dependent, but not long-term withdrawn, caffeine consumers

RATIONALE

Previous studies have shown that caffeine can reinforce flavour liking in overnight deprived moderate caffeine consumers (e.g. average of 250 mg/day) but not in low consumers (<120 mg/day). However, it is not possible to determine whether the difference between moderate and low caffeine consumers results from pre-existing individual differences in response to caffeine, or results directly from the different amounts of caffeine they habitually consume. If the former were true, then moderate consumers who are completely withdrawn should still manifest the flavour conditioning effect. Conversely, if the latter were true, consumers who are completely withdrawn should not manifest the effect.

OBJECTIVES

To examine whether moderate caffeine consumers who have been fully withdrawn from caffeine manifest the flavour conditioning effect.

METHODS

In a double-blind study, 48 moderate caffeine consumers refrained from consuming caffeine for 4 weeks and were given replacement drinks to consume, which were either caffeinated (maintained group) or decaffeinated (withdrawn group). In the final 2 weeks, all subjects evaluated a novel drink containing either 100 mg caffeine or placebo on four non-consecutive days. RESULTS. The rated pleasantness of the novel drink containing caffeine increased over the four test days in the group maintained on caffeine, but pleasantness of the same drink fell significantly in the withdrawn group.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that the ability of caffeine to reinforce changes in flavour liking are driven by the alleviation of withdrawal symptoms among habitual caffeine consumers and provide further support for the negative reinforcement theory.

Effect of caffeine-deprivation on liking for a non-caffeinated drink

Liking for a novel non-caffeinated drink decreases when regular caffeine consumers are exposed repeatedly to that drink when caffeine-deprived; however, this dislike is not manifest if people are subsequently tested when not caffeine-deprived (Yeomans et al., 2000a). The present study investigated the basis for this effect, and in particular, whether the decrease in liking observed is specific to the drink flavour experienced during caffeine-deprivation. Twenty-four caffeine consumers evaluated five novel drinks (fruit teas) at pre-training. For each person, the drink with the median liking score was subsequently consumed mid-morning after 12 h caffeine-deprivation on four non-consecutive training days. Rated pleasantness of this drink decreased significantly over these four training days. Subjects subsequently re-evaluated all five drinks on a test day when half the consumers were given 100mg caffeine two hours prior to testing, with the remainder receiving placebo. The group who remained deprived continued to express depressed liking for the exposed (target) drink, compared to their pre-training rating of that drink. In contrast, rated pleasantness was not depressed compared to pre-training ratings in the group who had received caffeine prior to testing. Rated pleasantness of the four unexposed drinks was equivalent to pre-training ratings, for both groups, suggesting that the effect of exposure on ratings of the target drink was specific to that drink. As expected, there was some evidence of improved mood in the group receiving caffeine on the test day; but as it was only ratings of the target drink that differed across groups, the group difference cannot be attributed to general effects of mood on use of the rating scale. These data suggest that the reversal of acquired changes in liking for drinks when consumers are changed from a caffeine-deprived to an undeprived condition is best explained in terms of state-dependent learning, that is specific to the drink experienced during caffeine-deprivation.