Neurotransmitters are chemicals delivering messages to and from the brain cell as well as a way of helping your brian and body function. What caffeine does is that it stops the release of the neurotransmtter adenosine, which is a chemical that sends messages to other neurotransmitters. Adenosine (located in the peripheral nervous system) helps people sleep at night because it naturally slows the brain and body down. Once caffeine is used though, a person can become more alert and awake because the adenosine is being blocked. Epinephrine (located near amyglada) is the hormone of the neurotransmitter and it increases the heart rate and blood pressure when caffeine is consumed. Lastly, it affects the dopamine (located in the frontal lobe) in the brain, affecting memory, movents, and attention. It takes only 30 minutes for the effects of caffeine to start, and it'll reach its peak after about an hour after consumption.
How it Affects Your Conciousness:
Your consciousness is affected a lot as well by caffeine. Caffeine can be good in many ways because it can help with relaxation and focus, but once it becomes a daily habit to consume caffeine, your consciousness is affected. For example, when caffeine is taken right before bed, you're more awake and not able to go to bed, altering your state of consciousness. Overall, your consciousness starts to depend on getting caffeine in your system and when it doesn't you react in a bad way. It can even cause diarrhea, nausea, irritability and insomnia if your body is dependent on caffeine. You can even get dehydrated because caffeine causes people to pee a lot.
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In the end, caffeine can become a dangerous drug that can lead to some different outcomes that aren't benificial to daily living.
Map of Brain:
Adenosine in the Brain:
Epinephrine can be found around the amyglada:
Dopmine in the Brain:
Works Cited:
"Brainwaves." The Sunday Times. 28 Jan. 2007. 23 Oct. 2008 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&an=7eh0646820919&site=src-live.
Marcovitz, Hal. Caffeine. Farmington HIlls, MI: Lucent Books, 2006.
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