Excessive caffeine consumption causes adverse health effects. The effects of moderate and high doses of caffeine consumption on the motor coordination, cognitive brain functions, and the social behavior in mice were studied. Animals were divided into three groups: control group, moderate dose group (Ac MD), and high dose group (Ac HD). The animals were tested after 7 days of caffeine administration. A rotarod test for motor coordination showed that the mice of the moderate dose group could stay on the rotating rod longer before falling in comparison to the control group and the high dose group. A water maze test for learning and memory showed better performance of mice receiving the moderate dose of caffeine compared to the other groups. Animals that were administered moderate as well as high doses of caffeine showed no sociability and no preference for social novelty in the three-chamber test used to test social behavior. In an elevated plus maze test, control animals showed no anxiety-like behavior while mice from both of the groups administered with caffeine showed anxiety-like behaviors. Our data conclude that the effects of caffeine on higher brain functions depend on the administration dose. When caffeine was given in moderate doses, it resulted in enhancement of memory and motor coordination functions. However, high doses caused defects in memory and learning. The social behavior of the mice, as determined by the level of anxiety and sociability, was affected negatively by moderate as well as high dose caffeine administration.
Keywords: caffeine; cognition; memory; mice; motor coordination; social behavior.