Apart from being good to fight overweight, cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or to age better, among the many beneficial properties of green tea, now, a study has concluded that it improves our cognitive functions of the brain, specifically of working memory , that which involves the processes used for short-term memory and the manipulation of information.
The results of the work, which have been published in the journal Psychopharmacology , reveal that the antioxidant properties of green tea increase the connectivity between the frontal and parietal cortex of the brain. To reach this conclusion, the researchers conducted a study with 12 healthy volunteers with a mean age of 24 years . Half of the participants received a milk-based drink containing 27.5 grams of green tea extract ; the other half received the same drink, but without the tea. None of the participants knew what was in the drink they were offered for the study.
After this, the members of the study carried out a series of tasks related to memory while their brain activity was analyzed by magnetic resonance imaging. The examination of the results determined that the participants who had consumed the drink with tea showed greater connectivity between the right upper parietal lobe and the frontal cortex of the brain, both associated with a better performance of tasks related to working memory.
According to experts, this study, carried out by researchers at the University Hospital of Basel (Switzerland), shows that green tea could also be a promising tool in the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neuropsychiatric disorders such as dementia.
