Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Controlled human interventional trial comparing single-dose creatine against placebo with MRS imaging
PubMed 38418482 · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-54249-9
What was done
Participants underwent 21 hours of sleep deprivation and received either a high single oral dose of creatine monohydrate (0.35 g/kg) or a placebo while performing cognitive tasks. Researchers conducted cognitive testing along with two consecutive phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) scans and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) at evening baseline, and at 3, 5.5, and 7.5 hours post-dose to track cerebral energy metabolism and cognitive function.
What was found
The abstract reports no exact numerical values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. Creatine administration induced shifts in phosphocreatine to inorganic phosphate ratios (PCr/Pi), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and total creatine to total N-acetylaspartate ratios (tCr/tNAA). It also prevented a drop in cerebral pH and improved cognitive performance and processing speed relative to placebo during sleep deprivation.
Why it matters
Conventional views hold that central nervous system uptake of exogenous creatine requires weeks of daily supplementation. This study suggests that combining acute high single-dose supplementation with high metabolic demand can rapidly alter brain bioenergetics and mitigate fatigue-induced cognitive decline.
Limits
The abstract does not state the sample size, participant demographics, randomization method, or blinding. Furthermore, no numerical values, effect sizes, or statistical significance thresholds are reported in the abstract.