Caffeine and Adenosine Receptors

We are all familiar with caffeine's stimulatory effects, but how does it actually work? Check out this episode of Medicurio to learn more about the world's most commonly used psychoactive drug.

I ended off with saying how caffeine has a variety of medicinal uses, but didn't really go in depth. If you would like to learn more, continue reading.

Caffeine can prevent neurodegenerative disease: There have been studies that found a correlation between drinking a few cups of coffee a day and slower onset of neurodegenerative diseases, but it is still unclear how caffeine does this. If you recall from the video, when adenosine stimulates A2A receptors on wake-promoting neurons, those neurons increase in activity. A2A receptors are also found on other neurons and also increase their activity. The idea is that in neurodegenerative diseases, these neurons actually begin to become overworked and die off. When caffeine binds to A2A receptors, it actually allows them to rest, making caffeine a neuroprotective agent. Keep in mind that this is just one theory and may be shown to be completely wrong in a few years time when new research shows an entirely different mechanism, but it is the best guess that scientists have now.

[Medicurio]

Hello everyone! Apologies for not posting sooner, I have been swamped with schoolwork for the past few weeks.
I can't believe that I got my 1000th subscriber a few days ago! You guys are absolutely amazing and I truly appreciate your supportive comments in my videos. Thank you all so much!

[TheKeithkwan]

extremely informative, this saved me hours of time on Google scholar, thank you for your contribution!

[riftis]

3:25 "...So you wake up feeling refreshed."

No, no I do not.

[bws]

I really enjoyed this video. Well-described and explained. Your voice-overs are also very good! Easy to listen to and understand! Keep up the good work!

[taylorheninger]

This was so clear and so visually understandable that it's now got me studying how different chemicals affect the body and brain thank you for your amazing work.

[tyranmcgrath]

Thank you. This deserves to be in a school curriculum. I love biochemistry with a focus on drugs.

[juliepinc]

I quit coffee and caffeine myself so i know how hard it can be. I actually have a couple videos on my channel about how ingot through it all and why I decided to step away from it for good! Great video! Thank you!

[MEGATestberichte]

After seeing this ... this confirms my aim to quit it completely once and for all. Always losing control ...dosage higher and higher.

[marcc.e.wagner]

Xanthine family of molecules such as caffeine cause vasoconstriction which is one way it may help with migraines. Purinergic signaling is a very fascinating field and Alan North and Geoff Burnstock have many videos talking about this topic. The P1 receptors family which comprises A₁, A2A, A2B and A₃ are also expressed on cells of the immune system. It is well worth exploring further. Thank you for a good representation of what occurs in the caffeine inhibition of adenosine pathway.

[chinmayeechavan]

I'm just an undergraduate student, and I just clicked this video, even though I don't have this topic in my syllabus, I clearly understood each and every point you said. The explanations are very clear.

[BasicallySteve]

Glad to see you posting again! And just to add my own personal anecdote, I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine. If I ingest it from sources without L-theanine to counter its effect (like soda or coffee) I get really jittery and hyper. It also makes it harder to sleep even if I had it earlier in the morning. Tea and a little dark chocolate are usually fine though.
Anyway, keep up the good work!

[Elina]

Wow, this was explained in such a simple and understandable way! Thank you!

[rzeeman]

most underrated channel on youtube! thanks brother.

[Brookec]

Holy. Cow. This is so cool!

This was presented in such an easy to understand way and I am mind boggled by how the body operates and adapts.

Thank you for this new, extremely clarifying knowledge!

[ElDespertar]

This video has been of a tremendous help for me. Very well explained and illustrated, which makes it easy to understand. Thank you very much for sharing it with us!

[paulina]

such a good vid! Decidedto quit my coffee consumption even tho I " only" have one cup a day.

[anarky]

i went from 2g caffeine / day to quitting caffeine and trust me that first week all you want to do is sleep

[garyzhang]

I love coffee. It is nice to know how it works and how it affects my brain. Thank u.

[runetoons]

I love how you're finally getting consistent views. You deserve it!

[brontee]

Supplemented what was explained in my lecture perfectly!