Green is known for internally cleansing body, improving overall physical health and keeps cholesterol levels under control. A latest research claims that the herbal potion also enhances brain power.
Researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, studied the impact of green tea on brain and found that it particularly helps improving working memory. They said that green tea extract increases the effective connectivity of brain. This means the causal influence that one brain area put forth over another.
For the study, the researchers recruited healthy men, one group acted as control and other to see the effects of green tea on brain. The participants were given a soft drink filled with several grams of green tea extracts. Then they were told to solve working memory tasks.
The researchers then conducted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning on those who consumed green tea infused soft drink. The results showed increased connectivity between the parietal and the frontal cortex of the brain.
The authors explained the findings showed an improvement in task performance of the participants. "Our findings suggest that green tea might increase the short-term synaptic plasticity of the brain," study co-author Professor Stefan Borgwardt from the Psychiatric University Clinics in press release.
The authors explained that this improvement in connectivity led to better actual cognitive performance. According to them, the findings are important as it may provide insight into clinical implications for treating cognitive disorders like dementia. "Our findings suggest that green tea might increase the short-term synaptic plasticity of the brain," Borgwardt said.
Past studies have shown that drinking green tea improves cognitive functions in different ways. But, it is not clear how green tea actually works in the brain power enhancement.
The findings are published in the journal Psychopharmacology.
