First, by blocking adenosine, caffeine can prevent it from inhibiting norepinephrine, which has positive effects on consolidation of
memory (2). We have previously demonstrated a relationship between norepinephrine and pattern separation (11). Another possibility
is that caffeine's action in the CA2 region of the hippocampus, which is highly enriched in adenosine A1 receptors (12), enhances
long-term potentiation in this subfield (13), which may have a role in certain types of memories (14). In addition to the hippocampus,
several other regions may have a role in consolidating memories, including the anterior cingulate cortex (15) and the medial
prefrontal cortex (16). Other brain regions may have a role in modulating consolidation such as the basolateral amygdala (17,18) and
mesolimbic dopaminergic areas (19). Examining the contributions of these regions and the effects of caffeine on their processing is
further crucial to understanding of psychostimulant-induced memory potentiation.