Caffeine and memory performance on the AVLT

The Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) is a memory test that assesses recall of lists of words on single and multiple trials. College students (N = 33) were given the AVLT, either with or without a prior administration of 100 mg caffeine. Caffeine subjects recalled fewer words than did control subjects, both after single presentations of lists and across repeated trials. Caffeine subjects showed a greater deficit in recalling the middle-to-end portions of the lists. Personality scores on the Maudsley Personality Inventory showed a positive correlation of recall on a pretest with Neuroticism, and no correlation with Introversion.