title: No Acute Effects of Choline Bitartrate Food Supplements on Memory in Healthy, Young, Human Adults.
abstract: Choline is a dietary component and precursor of acetylcholine, a crucial neurotransmitter for memory-related brain functions. In two double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over experiments, we investigated whether the food supplement choline bitartrate improved declarative memory and working memory in healthy, young students one to two hours after supplementation. In experiment 1, 28 participants performed a visuospatial working memory task. In experiment 2, 26 participants performed a declarative picture memorization task. In experiment 3, 40 participants performed a verbal working memory task in addition to the visuospatial working memory and declarative picture task. All tasks were conducted approximately 60 minutes after the ingestion of 2.0-2.5g of either choline bitartrate or placebo. We found that choline did not significantly enhance memory performance during any of the tasks. The null hypothesis that choline does not improve memory performance as compared to placebo was strongly supported by Bayesian statistics. These results are in contrast with animal studies suggesting that choline supplementation boosts memory performance and learning. We conclude that choline likely has no acute effects on cholinergic memory functions in healthy human participants.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden, 2333AK, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Lippelt
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden, 2333AK, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van der Kint
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden, 2333AK, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van Herk
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden, 2333AK, The Netherlands.|Leiden Institute of Brain and Cognition, LUMC, Leiden, 2300 RC, The Netherlands.|Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, Utrecht, 3584CS, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002794:Choline / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002794:Choline