Project

My friend and I were assigned a science fair project for biology. We are thinking of doing an experiment that involves consuming caffeine, but we are not sure of what the purpose/problem should be. Anyone have any suggestions?

we did plate tectonics for like 2 years running at the science fair

made a model with two pieces of wood on drawer tracks then molded about 3 inches of latex to overlap the two edges, built up the rest of the board with modeling clay, painted it like dirt

put the track on a frame, put a 12v eletric motor underneath to pull the two boards together, the latex was slightly curved upwards so when the boards met a "mountain" formed out of the latex, then youd reverse the engine and it would spread the plates apart again

also there was a volcano made out of clay with a fishtank pump and a moat around the bottom, switch the pump on, it would shoot some red foodcolored water about 4 inches in the air, the moat would catch it and funnel it back to resevoir

besides the two props, lots of printed graphs and shit on the posterboard.. the report in the middle, and a lot of large font blurbs labeling everything

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Effect of caffeine on memory over time.

Suggestions:

With Caffeine vs Without Caffeine over a normal wakefulness period, with similarly aged subjects of same ethnicity, gender, intelligence, memory capability, and fitness.

With Caffeine vs Without Caffeine over episodes of say, 18-30 hours awake. Same controls.

Find memory tests used by psychologists, implement. Decorate your fair project by getting an art photographer friend to photograph your sleepless faces.

I'd get one of those people who go nuts on caffine, load them up, and then let them loose on the fair.

afaik the argument with coffee is that it makes you more productive, effecient

the reason its become the official cultural drug is due to the 9-5 workforce dependence

should probably test speed/productivity/efficiency with caffeine and without

i would say the most reasonable method for a science fair and not a pharmaceutical style multiyear study is to find a repetative test where the tasks are the same and a control time is known.. the test must be such that being familliar with the tasks gives you no advantage over previous iterations through the test, ie knowing the answers shouldnt matter, some sort of drawing or ordering test, not a memory test where answers can be memorized through familiarization

take the same test after 2 cups, 4 cups, etc with control gaps in between to account for exhaustion or ease of concurrent tests, graph the test times.. see what they tell you etc

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail91.html

It might also be helpful to note that caffeine increases the levels of dopamine in the system much in the same way that amphetamines do. If I recall correctly, it inhibits the reuptake of dopamine. This has interesting implications for people with attention deficit disorder, as a lack of sufficient dopamine is the cause of that condition.

ive got a panic disorder... caffine makes me phreek out like ima die .. wasnt always like that but one day i just started getting like that .. so ive been without caffine for like 4 years now .. but i think i still consume it on some small basis.. like if i go to a restaurant and get a half ice tea half lemonade .. but i just dont think about it .. so i think its just a mental thing .. sucks .. sorry dont think this had much relevance .. but thought id share my thoughts.

please don't

i think i am immune to caffeine. however much coffee i drink, it does not do anything

Question: If caffeine doesn't seem to do anything to you (i.e. you can have it right before going to sleep), does it still hurt you? Like messing with my circadian rhythm, causing undesirable long-term effects, etc.

I'm mainly concerned regarding the difference between Coca-Cola with vs. without caffeine, as I don't drink Coffee, but I love Coca-Cola, and while it's supposed to be better without caffeine, the truth is it tastes better with.

>>11
The effects of caffeine are primarily associated with inhibiting the reuptake of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. This results in there being more dopamine in your system than usual. Depending on your particular natural balance of dopamine, the level of the effects of caffeine will vary. But don't doubt that just because you can go to sleep after drinking a glass of coke that your levels of dopamine are not being elevated. Now how harmful that really is (if at all) is up for debate still.

>>12
Thank you for the information. Wasn't dopamine released during sex? Does caffeine affect possitively or negatively one's sex drive?

>>13
That I can't help you with. I know that it will reduce appetite. Dopamine is linked to a lot of physiological functions. I would not at all be surprised if it was released during sex. It is mostly linked to the functions of the sympathetic nervous system (I think that's the right one) which dominates the functions of your body when you are in a state of alertness (ie. not resting, eating, sleeping, etc.). I know from personal experiance that increasing levels of norepinephrine (another neurotransmitter) can make climax more difficult to reach, but depending on whether you are masturbating or engaging in intercourse, this can be a bad or a good thing. I've heard it claimed that caffeine will reduce your sperm count, though I've never seen the evidence to back that claim up.

Caffeine is so -done-.  Like sugar is baked.  Go see a reference librarian about how to look up all the nice medical abstracts on  all the kinds of dopamine, serotonin, messed-up-caffeine-related-behabiors, and other fixes for 'em there can be.  Then, tell us how we're supposed to know what's out of balance by simply doing the exercises on a fitness-hike trail, and cook up something interesting based on the stuff you've read and come to understand.

Something like: Coke deprivation headache WTF specific fixability with bench-pressing heavy cats.  Or if Coke has phosphoric acid in it, what does the body turn into a base to compensate, what genes are involved, and which disease vectors might this correlate well with (though I guess this is tough to call an experimental one unless you're a real whiz with the databases.)