How Caffeine Works in Your Brain
The neural mechanism of the world’s most popular drug
Caffeine is a stimulant, which many of us already know from extensive experience.
It wakes you up, makes your heart pump faster and gives you an energy kick, but it can also make you jittery, crash and be rather addictive.
Just observe the person in a persistent foul mood until they get their first coffee of the day.
How exactly how does it give you that characteristic energy boost though? And why do you seem to need more and more to get the same effect as time goes on?
Adenosine
Caffeine affects something in the brain called adenosine.
Adenosine is neurotransmitter; a chemical messenger which passes signals between brain cells, which either say ‘fire up’ or ‘quieten down’
Brain cells are long, thin, signal-sending machines with branches on both ends. One side receive messages and the other sends them.
Adenosine is an inhibitory transmitter, meaning it sends a ‘be quiet’ signal to cells, forcing them to reduce their activity.
