Green tea has always been hailed as the healthiest hot drink of choice, but new research has found it can also be good for your mind.
Scientists claim green tea enhances several cognitive functions, in particular our working memory.
The new findings suggest that green tea could be used to treat dementia and other psychiatric disorders.
Put the kettle on: Researchers have found that green tea extract increases the brain's effective connectivity, improving out working memory
The new research, from the University of Basel, found that green tea extract increases the brain's effective connectivity.
Scientists at the university saw significant improvements in working memory tasks after people had consumed green tea.
The findings suggest green tea could be used to help treat memory loss caused by psychiatric disorders or as part of recovery.
Past studies have shown the health benefits that come from drinking green tea, but the neural mechanisms behind the effect were previously unknown
Tea time: The new findings suggest that green tea could be used to treat dementia and other neuropsychiatric disorders
Volunteers were given a drink with green tea extract before being given working memory tasks to solve.
By monitoring brain activity through MRI scans, scientists could see an increased connectivity between the parietal and the frontal cortex of the brain.
‘Our findings suggest that green tea might increase the short-term synaptic plasticity of the brain’, co-author Prof. Borgwardt said.
The results of the study were published in the journal Psychopharmacology.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2599702/Its-official-green-tea-DOES-make-clever.html#ixzz2yKdL3Rrn
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