Science News has an article about how rats are affected by caffeine. Scientists divided them into worker rats and slacker rats based on their characteristics. Slacker rats are affected quite differently than worker rats. Read and comment!
I think this is pretty interesting to show that caffeine and other stimulus doesn't always increase activity in rats (and humans?). The stimulus, when given to "lazy" "slacker" rats, the stereotypical reaction was shown: the rats increased mental and physical activity. However, when given to hard-working rats, the mental and physical activity decreased. Does this mean that for humans, naturally hard working people should avoid intake of caffeine during crunch-time? I think it would be very interesting to find out truly why a stimulus would cause a decrease in activity.
I think it is weird that the worker rats ended up decreasing their abilities to work hard based on caffeine. People who drink coffee usually say it helps them stay awake and help them do their job, but according to this study that’s not true. When the slacker rats were given the same thing, they didn’t work any harder than what they did before. I think this is also strange, because people say that once they had coffee they ended up doing a better job. This study has somewhat proven that caffeine does not necessarily help you do a better job; it only increases your energy for a short period of time.
It is so weird how caffeine did not change anything in the slacker rats and make the worker rats less hard working. I cannot think of anything that could have that affect on the worker rats. The only thing I could really think of is what the scientist are thinking of.. how anything that gets into the worker rat's system just throws everything else off.
That is really interesting...especailly because I have been drinking coffee every morning since I was five. (my parents mixed it with ovaltine until I was 11 or 12) Maybe its kind of a threshold sort of thing and once you reach that threshold, if you try to enchance it anymore you start all the way over on the intellectual scale?
I think this is pretty interesting to show that caffeine and other stimulus doesn't always increase activity in rats (and humans?). The stimulus, when given to "lazy" "slacker" rats, the stereotypical reaction was shown: the rats increased mental and physical activity. However, when given to hard-working rats, the mental and physical activity decreased. Does this mean that for humans, naturally hard working people should avoid intake of caffeine during crunch-time? I think it would be very interesting to find out truly why a stimulus would cause a decrease in activity.
ReplyDeleteI think it is weird that the worker rats ended up decreasing their abilities to work hard based on caffeine. People who drink coffee usually say it helps them stay awake and help them do their job, but according to this study that’s not true. When the slacker rats were given the same thing, they didn’t work any harder than what they did before. I think this is also strange, because people say that once they had coffee they ended up doing a better job. This study has somewhat proven that caffeine does not necessarily help you do a better job; it only increases your energy for a short period of time.
DeleteIt is so weird how caffeine did not change anything in the slacker rats and make the worker rats less hard working. I cannot think of anything that could have that affect on the worker rats. The only thing I could really think of is what the scientist are thinking of.. how anything that gets into the worker rat's system just throws everything else off.
ReplyDeleteThat is really interesting...especailly because I have been drinking coffee every morning since I was five. (my parents mixed it with ovaltine until I was 11 or 12) Maybe its kind of a threshold sort of thing and once you reach that threshold, if you try to enchance it anymore you start all the way over on the intellectual scale?
ReplyDelete