Participants: Participants consisted of 26 (n = 26), healthy, college participants (5 males and 21 females) aged years. See Table 1. Protocol: Participants were tested three times, which included Days 1, 7 and 14. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups, which received either the 100 mg of caffeine or a 100 mg placebo capsule at Day 7 and the remaining pill at Day 14. Exclusion criterion included the following: Age outside Smoking Consumption of > 100mg caffeine Learning disorder Diagnosis of ADD/ADHD Consumption of caffeine or alcohol 24 hours prior to testing Not meeting Green’s WMT validity criterion Not meeting ImPACT validity criterion Participants completed: Health history questionnaire Green’s WMT (Prior to and following ImPACT) ImPACT Data Analysis: Two-tailed paired t-tests were used to assess differences between performance on the ImPACT with and without caffeine for the WMT and ImPACT Analyses were performed with α =.05 AbstractPurpose References Methods Results Discussion & Conclusion INTRODUCTION: Baseline assessments using computerized neurocognitive testing (CNT) has been advocated for the management of sport related concussion (SRC) The ImPACT is a commonly used CNT used in SRC management protocols. A potential extraneous variable, which may influence baseline ImPACT test performance, is caffeine. Caffeine ingestion is prevalent amongst children and adolescents due to the need to increase or boost energy levels. Sources of random error such as caffeine may limit the clinical utility of the baseline ImPACT assessment following a SRC. PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect caffeine on computerized neurocognitive testing, using ImPACT, in a healthy collegiate sample. METHODS: Design: Participants consisted of 26 (n = 26), healthy, college participants. Participants completed Green’s Word Memory Test (WMT) and forms 1, 2 and 3 of ImPACT at Days 1, 7, and 14. Form 1 was administered to familiarize each participant with the ImPACT and used to employ the reliable change index. Participants were randomly assigned into two counterbalanced groups. Depending upon group assignment, each group received a 100 mg caffeine or placebo pill on Day 7 one hour prior to taking the WMT and ImPACT. The same methodology was employed using either remaining pill on Day 14. Measurement: Main outcome measures consisted of ImPACT’s Verbal and Visual Memory, Visual Motor Speed, Reaction Time, Total Symptom Score, and Impulse Control and the WMT’s Immediate and Delayed Recall, Consistency, Multiple Choice, and Paired Recall. Two-tailed paired t-tests were used to determine significant differences in performance on the ImPACT and the WMT with and without caffeine. All analyses were performed with α =.05.. Results: Our analyses revealed no significant differences for any ImPACT or WMT (p>.05) composite score with administration of caffeine or a placebo. Similar to previous research, we observed ImPACT misclassified 8 participants at Day 7, and 9 participants at Day 14. All participants included in our analyses provided a valid effort as defined by the WMT and ImPACT. Conclusions: Our results suggest caffeine in the amount of 100 mg, which is similar to an 8 oz can of a typical energy drink (Redbull, Rockkstar, Monster, Full Throttle), does not influence performance on ImPACT. Future research is needed with a larger sample size and administration of varying amounts of caffeine to determine its influence on performance on CNTs. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of caffeine on performance on the ImPACT in a healthy college sample using psychometrically sound time points. No significant findings between caffeine and placebo with ImPACT and Green’s WMT. All WMT exceeded 85% suggesting a valid effort was provided at each time point. ImPACT misclassified 8 healthy individuals on Day 7 and 9 on Day 14. Table 1. Demographic Information for participants Table 2. Means and (SD) for ImPACT Composite Scores CNTs are an important component of the concussion management paradigm / In a healthy, college aged sample, we observed no significance between 100 mg caffeine and placebo in ImPACT or Green’s WMT. Despite all participants providing a valid effort on both the WMT and ImPACT, 8 healthy individuals were misclassified on Day 7 and 9 on Day 14. Future research should be conducted analyzing the effect higher doses of caffeine may have on neurocognitive testing. Increased ingestion of caffeine by children and adolescents may have adverse effects. 1.Meehan, W.P., et al., Computerized neurocognitive testing for the management of sport-related concussions. Pediatrics, 2012, 129(1): p Resch, J.E., et al. Test-Retest Reliability of the ImPACT: Reliably Unreliable? Journal of Athletic Training. J Ath Train, 2013, 48(3): In Press. 3.Childs, Emma. Wit, Harriet. Subject, behavioral, and physiological effects of acue caffeine in light, nondependent caffeine users. Psychopharmacology, : Schatz, Philip, et. al. Sensitivity and specificity of the ImPACT Test Battery for concussion in athletes. Archives of clinical neuropsychology, (2006) 21: Haskell, Crystal F, et. al. Cognitive and mood improvements of caffeine in habitual consumers and habitual non-consumers of caffeine. Psychopharmacology, (2005) 179: Smith, H.J., Rogers P.J. Effects of low doses of caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low and high caffeine consumers. Psychopharmacology, (2000) 152: The Effect of Caffeine on Neurocognitive Testing Esianor BI*, Blueitt D, Cullum CM, Khan L, Schneider M, Azmar R, Shubet C, Wilson J, Resch JE The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX Department of Kinesiology Assessed for eligibility (N = 38) Analyzed (n = 26) Excluded Not meeting inclusion criteria (n = 2) Consumption of caffeine 24 hours prior to testing (n=4) Failure to meet appointment or reschedule (n-6) Figure 1. Diagram showing how the final sample was determined Table 4. Misclassification rates for ImPACT Table 3. Means and (SD) for Green’s WMT Composite Scores