Combined Effects of Optimism Level and Caffeine Intake on QEEG Alpha Wave Power:
Melissa Lenert & Dr. Luis Aguerrevere
A Pilot Study
Stephen F. Austin State University
Mean AlphaResults
Activity vs Location
Introduction
 Caffeine has a general effect on alpha brain
waves (Diukova, 2010).
 Heavy caffeine users experienced increased
neural activity compared to vasoconstriction
(Gilbert et al., 2000)
 Purpose of the pilot study is to assess the
effects of caffeine intake and optimism levels
on alpha wave activity in heavy caffeine users.
Z-Scored Alpha Activity Example
Befor
e
16.0000
Absolute
Power
14.0000
12.0000
Relative
Power
Average Alpha Vales
10.0000
Method
8.0000
Amplitude
Asymmetry
6.0000
Participants
Six participants: three males and three females
All participants are heavy caffeine users –
defined as daily consumption of more than one
cup of coffee
Materials and Methods
Participants abstained from caffeine for 12 hours
prior to assessment
Assessments occurred between 8am and 11am
Standard QEEG assessments using the 10-20
system
First assessment prior to coffee
Participants drank one cup of black coffee
Second assessment 20 minutes after coffee
Afte
r
4.0000
Coherence
2.0000
0.0000
F3
AF3
F4
AF4
C3
AC3
C4
AC4
P3
AP3
P4
AP4
T3
AT3
T4
Skull Locations
AT4
Phase
Lag
Results
 Strong correlations between absolute
power and optimism in frontal (before
R=-0.345; after R=-0.447)
 Greater caffeine activity correlated with
optimism in frontal (R=0.413) and
central (R=0.359) locations
 Interhemispheric differences in
temporal areas (Mean before=1.54;
Mean after=1.46)
Human Neuroscience Lab
Conclusion
Caffeine has a general effect on
alpha wave activity and
optimism scores in heavy users.
Although the sample size is
small, the trend is significant
enough to warrant further study.
Poster Presented at the Undergraduate Research Conference
March 31, 2016, 4:00 PM - 7:30 PM, Nacogdoches, TX