ArticleExperimental brain research2024
Paraxanthine enhances memory and neuroplasticity more than caffeine in rats.
Article in Experimental brain research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2026Article
- Design and Synthesis of Caffeine-Based Derivatives with Antioxidant and Neuroprotective Activity: In Vitro Evaluation and SwissADME Profiling.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Paraxanthine (PXN) is the main metabolite of caffeine (CAF). PXN supplementation has been shown to increase measures of cognition, memory, reasoning, response time, and sustained attention; however, no preclinical study has compared the effects of PXN with those of CAF. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of PXN and CAF on memory and related biomarkers in rats. The effects of two different doses of PXN (PXN LOW, PXN HIGH), CAF (CAF HIGH), and a control group on cognition (escape latency in the Morris water maze test), neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid), and neurochemicals (BDNF, catalase, glutathione, and cyclic GMP) were analyzed from whole brain samples in young (8 weeks old) and aged (16 months old) rats. Compared to the control group, escape latency improved in PXN LOW, PXN HIGH, and CAF HIGH (all P < 0.05) in young animals, and in PXN HIGH and CAF HIGH in older animals (P < 0.001). PXN HIGH improved escape latency compared to CAF HIGH in both young (P < 0.001) and old animals (P = 0.003). BDNF levels increased in PXN LOW, PXN HIGH, and CAF HIGH (all P < 0.001), with PXN HIGH increasing BDNF to a greater extent compared to CAF HIGH (P = 0.03). PXN HIGH also significantly increased BDNF levels compared to PXN LOW (P < 0.001). All other neurotransmitters and neurochemicals significantly increased in the PXN HIGH and CAF HIGH groups compared to the control. In conclusion, PXN showed greater improvements in cognition and BDNF levels compared to CAF, further substantiating PXN as a nootropic with greater benefits compared to CAF.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.