Paul Sabandal, Ph.D., co-author of a brand new paper in iScience and analysis assistant professor in UTEP’s Division of Organic Sciences, examines fruit flies beneath a microscope. The paper examines nighttime caffeine consumption in fruit flies and the way it can enhance impulsive habits, doubtlessly resulting in reckless actions. Credit score: The College of Texas at El Paso
Do you end up reaching for a cup of espresso at night time to remain alert? A brand new research from The College of Texas at El Paso suggests you may wish to rethink. A group of UTEP biologists has found that nighttime caffeine consumption can enhance impulsive habits, doubtlessly resulting in reckless actions.
The research, revealed in iScience, examined how nighttime caffeine consumption impacts inhibition and impulsivity in fruit flies. The work was led by Erick Saldes, Ph.D., Paul Sabandal, Ph.D., and Kyung-An Han, Ph.D.
Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly species used within the research, is a robust mannequin to check advanced behaviors as a result of its genetic and neural parallels with people, stated Han.
“Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world, with about 85% of adults in the U.S. using it regularly,” stated Sabandal, analysis assistant professor in UTEP’s Division of Organic Sciences. “Given caffeine’s popularity, we wanted to explore whether additional factors influence its impact on behavioral control.”
The group designed a sequence of experiments introducing caffeine into the flies’ diets beneath numerous circumstances, together with completely different caffeine doses, nighttime versus daytime consumption and together with sleep deprivation. The group then assessed impulsivity by measuring the flies’ capacity to suppress motion in response to robust airflow, a naturally disagreeable stimulus.
“Under normal circumstances, flies stop moving when exposed to strong airflow,” stated Saldes, now a science analysis specialist on the College of Illinois Faculty of Drugs Peoria and a former doctoral scholar at UTEP. “We found that flies consuming caffeine at night were less able to suppress movement, displaying impulsive behaviors such as reckless flying despite these aversive conditions.”
A group of UTEP biologists have found that nighttime caffeine consumption can enhance impulsive habits, doubtlessly resulting in reckless actions. The research examined how nighttime caffeine consumption impacts inhibition and impulsivity in fruit flies. On the left: Fruit flies are uncovered to robust airflow with out caffeine consumption, demonstrating little to no motion, depicting sturdy inhibitory management. On the appropriate, fruit flies which have ingested caffeine at night time display reckless flying and insufficient motion suppression in response to robust airflow. Credit score: The College of Texas at El Paso.
Apparently, caffeine consumed by the flies throughout the daytime didn’t result in the identical reckless flying, the group stated.
The group additionally found notable intercourse variations. Regardless of having comparable ranges of caffeine within the physique, females exhibited considerably larger caffeine-induced impulsivity than males.
“Flies don’t have human hormones like estrogen, suggesting that other genetic or physiological factors are driving the heightened sensitivity in females,” stated Organic Sciences Professor Kyung-An Han. “Uncovering these mechanisms will help us better understand how nighttime physiology and sex-specific factors modulate caffeine’s effects.”
The group warns that the findings may have damaging implications for shift employees, well being care and navy personnel who devour espresso at night time, notably females.
This research was performed in Han’s lab inside UTEP’s Division of Organic Sciences. The lab focuses on the neurobiological foundation of behavioral plasticity, together with studying, reminiscence and dependancy, in addition to gene-by-environment interactions related to Alzheimer’s illness and associated dementia.
Extra info:
Erick Benjamin Saldes et al, Nighttime caffeine consumption will increase motor impulsivity, iScience (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113197
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Research finds ingesting espresso at night time raises impulsivity, particularly in females (2025, August 5)
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