The Effects of Energy Drinks on Vision

Primary Faculty Mentor’s Name

Dr. Nick Holtzman

Proposal Track

Student

Session Format

Poster

Abstract

Highly caffeinated drinks such as energy drinks are very popular, but little is known about its physiological effects—such as how light is perceived. Energy drinks usually contain caffeine, taurine, vitamins, herbal supplements, and sugar or sweeteners and they are advertised to improve energy, weight loss, stamina, athletic and cognitive performance, and concentration. People depend on highly caffeinated drinks to gain energy and fulfill the other needs, but unfortunately there is no scientific evidence that verifies these positive effects. Energy drinks are sold in more than 140 countries the fastest growing U.S beverage market in the world (Seifert, Schaechter, Hershori, Lipshultz., 2011). Despite the increase in popularity and consumption, there is still little to no information on how energy drinks affect the human body. For our research, we are testing the effects of energy drinks on vision--specifically, the signals sent from the retina to the brain. These signals are sent in a form of action potential by the ganglion cells in the retina. An action potential is when the ganglion cells have to accumulate a certain amount of voltage to send a signal to the brain. Critical Flicker Frequency (CFF) is the point at which a flickering light is perceived as a steady light. When a light is flickering quickly, above the observer’s CFF threshold, the light looks like a steady, non-flickering light. When a light is flickering slowly, below the threshold, the light can be seen as a flickering light (Well, Bernstein, Scott, Bennett, Mendelson., 1999). Ten male Long Evans Rats were placed in Operant Chambers and trained to press levers. They were subjected to a shaping procedure involving 12 steps which lead to then being able to discriminate between a flickering light and a steady light. All equipment was computer controlled using MED-PD IV © program on a Dell desktop computer. This program also gathers and records all of the data needed to see if the rats are learning the appropriate lever-pressing behavior and if energy drinks have an effect on critical flicker frequency. At the end of the shaping procedure, the rats will be exposed to random frequencies of light and the CFF will be calculated under a control (drinking water) condition and an experimental (drinking a power drink) condition. The resulting CFFs will be compared. We hypothesize that energy drinks will reduce the CFF. This experiment is still ongoing and it is in the later stages of training in which we will determine when the rats distinguish between a steady light and a flickering light. These results are representative of the 10 rats being tested and show that the rats can be taught to press a lever using an automated program.

Keywords

Critical flicker frequency, Caffeine, Energy drinks, Action potential, Operant chamber, Long evan rats, Vision, Operant training method, Lever-pressing behavior, Shaping

Award Consideration

1

Location

Concourse/Atrium

Presentation Year

2014

Start Date

11-15-2014 2:55 PM

End Date

11-15-2014 4:10 PM

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

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Nov 15th, 2:55 PM Nov 15th, 4:10 PM

The Effects of Energy Drinks on Vision

Concourse/Atrium

Highly caffeinated drinks such as energy drinks are very popular, but little is known about its physiological effects—such as how light is perceived. Energy drinks usually contain caffeine, taurine, vitamins, herbal supplements, and sugar or sweeteners and they are advertised to improve energy, weight loss, stamina, athletic and cognitive performance, and concentration. People depend on highly caffeinated drinks to gain energy and fulfill the other needs, but unfortunately there is no scientific evidence that verifies these positive effects. Energy drinks are sold in more than 140 countries the fastest growing U.S beverage market in the world (Seifert, Schaechter, Hershori, Lipshultz., 2011). Despite the increase in popularity and consumption, there is still little to no information on how energy drinks affect the human body. For our research, we are testing the effects of energy drinks on vision--specifically, the signals sent from the retina to the brain. These signals are sent in a form of action potential by the ganglion cells in the retina. An action potential is when the ganglion cells have to accumulate a certain amount of voltage to send a signal to the brain. Critical Flicker Frequency (CFF) is the point at which a flickering light is perceived as a steady light. When a light is flickering quickly, above the observer’s CFF threshold, the light looks like a steady, non-flickering light. When a light is flickering slowly, below the threshold, the light can be seen as a flickering light (Well, Bernstein, Scott, Bennett, Mendelson., 1999). Ten male Long Evans Rats were placed in Operant Chambers and trained to press levers. They were subjected to a shaping procedure involving 12 steps which lead to then being able to discriminate between a flickering light and a steady light. All equipment was computer controlled using MED-PD IV © program on a Dell desktop computer. This program also gathers and records all of the data needed to see if the rats are learning the appropriate lever-pressing behavior and if energy drinks have an effect on critical flicker frequency. At the end of the shaping procedure, the rats will be exposed to random frequencies of light and the CFF will be calculated under a control (drinking water) condition and an experimental (drinking a power drink) condition. The resulting CFFs will be compared. We hypothesize that energy drinks will reduce the CFF. This experiment is still ongoing and it is in the later stages of training in which we will determine when the rats distinguish between a steady light and a flickering light. These results are representative of the 10 rats being tested and show that the rats can be taught to press a lever using an automated program.