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Existing evidence on the effects of glucose supplementation on cognitive performance appears inconclusive. Metabolic switching offers an approach to explain such incoherent findings based on differences in cognitive functioning after fasting.
We propose a new construct, cognitive glucose sensitivity CGS , which quantifies individual performance gain due to glucose supplementation. We tested the hypothesis that the effects of glucose ingestion depend on CGS, cognitive task domain, and sex. Seventy-one participants 48 female were tested in two conditions each deprivation baseline vs.
Ou r findings support the notion that the effects of glucose depend on CGS, task domain, and sex. The effort to reduce performance impairment short-term might sacrifice independence from external glucose long term , possibly via declining blood glucose regulation. Therefore, CGS could be regarded as a candidate to enhance our understanding of the etiology of unhealthy eating.
The cognitive effects of glucose supplementation vary widely between individuals. This is reflected in a controversial discussion in the literature over the past decades. Reported findings in this debate have been contradictory [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ] with some studies showing that glucose intake improves cognitive performance only under specific circumstances or can even have adverse effects [ 4 , 5 , 6 ].
