Acute Effects of a Glucose Energy Drink on Behavioral Control

Acute Effects of a Glucose Energy Drink on Behavioral Control

Section 1

The author(s) (full name), article title, and journal name.

Meagan A. Howard and Cecile A. Marczinskim Acute Effects of a Glucose Energy Drink on Behavioral Control, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology

Hypothesis / Research Question

The energy drink doses would improve response execution in the behavioral control task and would improve subjective reports of stimulation and decrease mental fatigue.

Variables

Dependent Variable

Placebo

Drinking

Independent variable

Age

Gender

Weight

Body Mass Index

Self-reported caffeine use (mg/kg)

Eysenck

BIS-11 total

Attention subscore

Cognitive complexity

Sample Used

Eighty adults (34 men and 46 women) between the ages of 18 and 40 (mean age _ 20.1 year, SD _ 3.1) participated in this study. The self-reported racial-ethnic make-up of the sample included 6 African American, 1 Hispanic and 73 Caucasian participants.

Methods employed

The research method is based on quantitative research method. The term quantitative research refers to approaches to empirical inquiry that collect, analyze, and display data in numerical rather than narrative form. Not surprisingly, quantitative research is often viewed as the antithesis of—and, at times, even a foil for—the qualitative type of research that is the focal point of this encyclopedia. The qualitative-quantitative distinction, however, can be a bit misleading. This entry first reviews issues related to this distinction and then examines these differences. Quantitative researchers invariably embrace the concepts of reliability and validity. Reliability is viewed as a property of the instruments (e.g., tests and observation schedules) that quantitative researchers use to measure the phenomena they are studying. An instrument is considered reliable if it consistently produces the same results when administered to the same or comparable individuals. Quantitative researchers normally employ measures of consistency to determine the reliability of a particular instrument. Quantitative researchers also are concerned with validity and they normally employ measurement to assess the extent to which a study and the study's key components are valid. Both internal and external validity are assessed.

Results of the Study

This research examined the acute effects of a glucose energy drink (1.8 ml/kg, 3.6 ml/kg, and 5.4 ml/kg Red Bull) on both subjective and objective measures of performance. The results showed that the energy drink increased self reported ratings of stimulation and decreased self-reported ratings of mental fatigue. In addition, the energy drink decreased RTs, a measure of response execution in the cued go/no-go task (a task commonly used to measure behavioral control). The energy drink had no effect on response inhibition in the same task. Together, the research findings reveal that acute administration of a popular energy drink resulted in stimulant-like effects on both subjective and objective measures. The results are consistent with other studies that have demonstrated that the acute effects of energy drinks and caffeine lead to subjective reductions in mental fatigue and improvements in cognitive performance such as decreased reaction times.

There may be an alternative explanation as to why individuals with poor impulse control who use other drugs may consume large amounts of energy drinks. It is possible that individuals with poor impulse control ...