Blood glucose and human memory

Benton, David; Owens, Deborah

doi:10.1007/bf02244338

Cited by 139 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…A recent meal may interact with the impact of arousal on blood glucose as well as with the effect of further glucose intake (Martin & Benton, 1999). Moreover, fasting has been associated with enhanced speed of performance on memory tasks in some studies (Benton & Owens, 1993;Green et al 1997a), but poorer recall levels in others (Martin & Benton, 1999).…”

Section: Mechanistic Implicationssupporting

confidence: 42%

Nutritional influences on cognitive function: mechanisms of susceptibility

Gibson

Green

2002

NRR

121

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The impact of nutritional variation, within populations not overtly malnourished, on cognitive function and arousal is considered. The emphasis is on susceptibility to acute effects of meals and glucose loads, and chronic effects of dieting, on mental performance, and effects of cholesterol and vitamin levels on cognitive impairment. New developments in understanding dietary influences on neurohormonal systems, and their implications for cognition and affect, allow reinterpretation of both earlier and recent findings. Evidence for a detrimental effect of omitting a meal on cognitive performance remains equivocal: from the outset, idiosyncrasy has prevailed. Yet, for young and nutritionally vulnerable children, breakfast is more likely to benefit than hinder performance. For nutrient composition, despite inconsistencies, some cautious predictions can be made. Acutely, carbohydrate-rich-protein-poor meals can be sedating and anxiolytic; by comparison, protein-rich meals may be arousing, improving reaction time but also increasing unfocused vigilance. Fat-rich meals can lead to a decline in alertness, especially where they differ from habitual fat intake. These acute effects may vary with time of day and nutritional status. Chronically, protein-rich diets have been associated with decreased positive and increased negative affect relative to carbohydrate-rich diets. Probable mechanisms include diet-induced changes in monoamine, especially serotoninergic neurotransmitter activity, and functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. Effects are interpreted in the context of individual traits and susceptibility to challenging, even stressful, tests of performance. Preoccupation with dieting may impair cognition by interfering with working memory capacity, independently of nutritional status. The change in cognitive performance after administration of glucose, and other foods, may depend on the level of sympathetic activation, glucocorticoid secretion, and pancreatic ␤-cell function, rather than simple fuelling

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Section: Mechanistic Implicationssupporting

confidence: 42%

Nutritional influences on cognitive function: mechanisms of susceptibility

Gibson

Green

2002

NRR

121

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“…The findings of this study should be treated with caution, as it is difficult to determine on the basis of the results presented by the authors whether glucose ingestion per se has influenced reaction time, or whether some other factor(s) known to influence blood glucose concentration (such as stress hormone release) in fact contributed to the reported findings. Other aforementioned studies by this group have also used a similar, questionable data analysis strategy in concluding that glucose influences verbal episodic memory (Benton and Owens, 1993) and attention performance .…”

Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 43%

“…However, a number of studies have failed to observe a glucose enhancement effect in healthy young adults for tests of verbal episodic memory in which memory materials were encoded under single task conditions (Azari, 1991;Benton and Owens, 1993;Hall et al, 1989;Manning et al, 1997;Scholey et al, 2001;Scholey and Kennedy, 2004;Winder and Borrill, 1998). In addition, further studies that have observed a glucose enhancement effect in the domain of verbal episodic memory under single task conditions in healthy young adults have reported an improvement only for primacy and/or recency items Messier et al, 1998), or when a dichotic listening paradigm is employed (Parker and Benton, 1995).…”

Section: Divided Attentionmentioning

confidence: 44%

Glucose enhancement of human memory: A comprehensive research review of the glucose memory facilitation effect

Smith

Riby

Eekelen

et al. 2011

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

134

123

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The brain relies upon glucose as its primary fuel. In recent years, a rich literature has developed from both human and animal studies indicating that increases in circulating blood glucose can facilitate cognitive functioning. This phenomenon has been termed the 'glucose memory facilitation effect'. The purpose of this review is to discuss a number of salient studies which have investigated the influence of glucose ingestion on neurocognitive performance in individuals with a) compromised neurocognitive capacity, as well as b) normally functioning individuals (with a focus on research conducted with human participants). The proposed neurocognitive mechanisms purported to underlie the modulatory effect of glucose on neurocognitive performance will also be considered. Many theories have focussed upon the hippocampus, given that this brain region is heavily implicated in learning and memory. Further, it will be suggested that glucose is a possible mechanism underlying the phenomenon that enhanced memory performance is typically observed for emotionally laden stimuli.

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“…Reaction time tasks appear to be sensitive to changes in blood glucose. Following a glucose drink, blood glucose level correlated with improved decision time (18). Poorer performance was associated with slower removal of glucose from the blood.…”

Section: Effects Of Glucose On Cognition and Moodcontrasting

confidence: 39%

“…Recovery from nadir and rising levels of blood glucose were associated with better recall than were falling blood glucose levels (18,19). The effect of 50 g glucose on memory for trigrams depends on the initial blood glucose levels of the subject (8) (Fig.…”

Section: Effects Of Glucose On Cognition and Moodsupporting

confidence: 38%

Diet, behaviour and cognitive functions: a psychobiological view

Blundell

Gumaste

Handley

et al. 2003

Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition

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There is a rapidly growing interest in the scientific study of the effects of foods on psychological processes involved in the control of behaviour (performance) and cognitive functions such as memory, perception, attention and vigilance. This study forms part of innovative research on functional foods, which provides an active arena for collaboration between researchers in universities, institutes and industry. Research outputs will inform legislation currently being drawn up in Europe. This article describes some basic issues of functional food research exemplified by evidence on the effects of carbohydrate foods. These effects implicate glucose metabolism in some aspects of human memory and performance. One specific issue concerns the problem of daytime lethargy and the ''post-lunch dip''. An exciting prospect for this type of work is the potential to develop foods to maintain or improve performance in the working environment and to enhance quality of life.

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Blood glucose and human memory

Cited by 139 publications

References 25 publications

Nutritional influences on cognitive function: mechanisms of susceptibility

Nutritional influences on cognitive function: mechanisms of susceptibility

Glucose enhancement of human memory: A comprehensive research review of the glucose memory facilitation effect

Diet, behaviour and cognitive functions: a psychobiological view

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