Sex differences in estimation of time intervals and in reaction time are removed by moderate but not high doses of caffeine in coffee

Estimation of the passage of time in the seconds-to-minutes range and reaction time are strongly dependent on a hypothetical internal clock. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter most closely related to the rate of this clock. Caffeine, probably the most consumed drug in the world, leads to an augmentation of dopamine neurotransmission. In this study coffee, which reproduces the conditions under which caffeine is normally ingested, containing 3, 75, 150 or 300 mg of caffeine, was given to healthy male and female volunteers. A computerized time estimation and reaction time test was carried out 50 min after ingestion. Sex differences in placebo control subjects (who took decaffeinated coffee with 3 mg of caffeine), with females making more accurate estimates of time intervals than males and males showing shorter reaction times than females, were removed in subject taking doses of 75 and 150 mg of caffeine in the case of time estimation and 150 mg in the case of reaction time. The 300 mg dose induced overestimation of time in females and shortened the reaction time in males. There were no sex differences in the pharmacokinetics of caffeine, as measured in salivary concentration of caffeine using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results indicating sex differences in time estimation or reaction time should not be generalized from the laboratory to real life without considering the fact that everyday coffee consumption may eliminate these differences. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.