Can drinking cocoa make you smarter?

摘要

A TEAM AT THE University of Birmingham has found that people given a cocoa drink containing high levels of flavanols were able to complete certain cognitive tasks more efficiently than when drinking a non-flavanol enriched-drink. The study participants also underwent non-invasive brain imaging to measure blood oxygena-tion levels in the brain. Working with experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois), the researchers showed that participants who had consumed the flavanol-rich drink produced a faster and greater increase in blood oxygenation levels in response to artificially elevated levels of CO_2 (hypercapnia). Flavanols, a sub-group of plant flavonoids, are present in cocoa, grapes, apples, tea, berries and other foods. They are known to have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular health, but their effects on brain health are not well understood. This study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first time the cognitive effects of flavanols in young, healthy subjects and the link with brain blood oxygenation have been investigated.