Evidence mapPaperPMID 41249138Full record

SynthesisTranslational psychiatry2025

Effects of caffeine on neuroinflammation in anxiety and depression: a systematic review of rodent studies.

Laís da Silva Neves, Giovanna Várzea Roberti Monteiro de Mattos, Yasmin Oliveira-Nazareth, Rosane Souza da Silva, Paula Campello-Costa

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Translational psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Laís da Silva NevesLaboratório de Neuroplasticidade, Departamento de Neurobiologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-2107-9493
Giovanna Várzea Roberti Monteiro de MattosLaboratório de Neuroplasticidade, Departamento de Neurobiologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-0734-7110
Yasmin Oliveira-NazarethLaboratório de Neuroplasticidade, Departamento de Neurobiologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil.
Rosane Souza da SilvaLaboratório de Teratologia Neurocomportamental, Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0592-008X
Paula Campello-CostaLaboratório de Neuroplasticidade, Departamento de Neurobiologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil. paulacampello@id.uff.br.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5086-4972

Funding

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) 001Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation | Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) 141314/2024-9Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation | Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) 307825/2022-1Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation | Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) 316573/2021-3
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental illnesses in the contemporary world. Several animal models have been developed to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these disorders and the effect of drugs in modulating the associated behavioral responses. Neuroinflammation has been related to mood disorders. Caffeine is a psychoactive substance that acts as a nonspecific blocker of adenosine receptors. Adenosine receptors are present in neurons and glial cells in different brain areas that are involved in controlling anxiety and depression. However, depending on the context, caffeine can exacerbate or inhibit neuroinflammation and behavioral responses associated with these conditions. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effects of caffeine and related xanthines on neuroinflammation observed in rodent models of anxiety and depression. A systematic database search (PROSPERO CRD42024517989) returned 17 eligible studies, separated based on the animal model. Most of the analyzed studies revealed that caffeine led to a beneficial effect, mitigating anxiety and depressive-like behaviors and possible cognitive impairments induced by stress. In addition, it also reversed oxidative damage and neuroinflammation by reducing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ß, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 and inhibiting glial cell activation. Together, these data reveal a robust effect of caffeine in alleviating symptoms for individuals with these disorders, even though the doses and routes of caffeine administration were highly variable among eligible studies. In addition, they advance the identification of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these effects.

Indexed as

AnxietyCaffeineDepressionNeuroinflammatory DiseasesAnimalsBehavior, AnimalDisease Models, AnimalCaffeine

Identifiers

PMID41249138
PMCPMC12623897

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.