Dose–response investigation into glucose facilitation of memory performance and mood in healthy young adults

Abstract

It has been suggested that the memory enhancing effect of glucose follows an inverted U-shaped curve, with 25 g resulting in optimal facilitation in healthy young adults. The aim of this study was to further investigate the dose dependency of the glucose facilitation effect in this population across different memory domains and to assess moderation by interindividual differences in glucose regulation and weight. Following a double-blind, repeated measures design, 30 participants were administered drinks containing five different doses of glucose (0 g, 15 g, 25 g, 50 g, and 60 g) and were tested across a range of memory tasks. Glycaemic response and changes in mood state were assessed following drink administration. Analysis of the data showed that glucose administration did not affect mood, but significant glucose facilitation of several memory tasks was observed. However, dose–response curves differed depending on the memory task with only performance on the long-term memory tasks adhering largely to the previously observed inverted U-shaped dose–response curve. Moderation of the response profiles by interindividual differences in glucose regulation and weight was observed. The current data suggest that dose–response function and optimal dose might depend on cognitive domain and are moderated by interindividual differences in glucose regulation and weight.