
Coffee is an addictive drug.
And now a new study suggests that coffee could be just as addictive, with caffeine being just as much a drug as cocaine.
A study led by researchers at the University of Michigan found that caffeine in caffeine-laced drinks had the same effect on the brain as cocaine did, and was just as dangerous as the drug itself.
“Caffeine is an opioid and it’s very similar to heroin,” said Dr. Andrew Gazzaniga, lead author of the study.
“But, of course, in the brain, there is a very different reaction when you take heroin.”
The researchers found that people who consumed caffeinated drinks had significantly higher levels of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that processes information and makes decisions, compared to people who did not drink caffeinated beverages.
The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Dr. Gazzanski said that because of caffeine’s addictive properties, it was important to find a way to stop it from entering the brain.
“It’s the most important drug in our world,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be as widely used as it was in the past.”
Researchers have known for some time that caffeine has an addictive properties.
In fact, it’s the main psychoactive ingredient in coffee and the most commonly used in breakfast cereals, according to the World Health Organization.
In addition to its effects on the body, caffeine also helps the brain maintain alertness and focus, and it boosts the production of neurotransmitters that control mood and learning.
This, in turn, helps people to stay awake longer.
But the researchers didn’t expect to find that the drug also makes people more anxious, and less alert.
“This is really surprising to us,” said Gazzani.
“We think we know that it has an impact on the nervous system, but what is the impact on people’s mood?”
The researchers looked at data from a group of over 500 people.
All the participants were asked to take a test that measured their levels of stress and anxiety.
They were then asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their mood and cognitive performance.
The questionnaire was similar to one used in the classic test for drug abuse, but instead of asking about past experiences of drug abuse and drug use, the question asked about caffeine.
The results showed that people with more frequent caffeine consumption in the morning and evening were significantly more anxious and had lower levels of mood.
The researchers then found that in response to the question about caffeine, people with higher levels had higher levels for anxiety and mood.
“People with anxiety are very sensitive to caffeine and the caffeine is not just absorbed,” said co-author, Dr. Jonathan M. Johnson.
“So, when they consume caffeine, their bodies respond to it differently, and they are also less sensitive to other stressors.
That’s what we found.”
Dr. Johnson said that the new study is important because it suggests that caffeine is an addiction in and of itself.
The effects of caffeine on the human body are complex and often difficult to determine, but Dr. Margo S. McPherson, an addiction specialist at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said that while people might be able to stop consuming caffeine, the risk of relapse is still there.
“There is a chance that people will try to use other drugs again,” said McPhersons.
“If they use caffeine again, they may try to stop using other drugs.
So, we really need to know more about the impact of caffeine consumption on the health of the body.”
The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institutes of Health.