Improved Attentional Performance Following Citicoline Administration in Healthy Adult Women

Abstract

Objectives: The present study assessed the potential cognitive-enhancing effects of citicoline, a dietary supplement, in healthy adult women. Specifically, it was hypothesized that citicoline supplementation would be associated with improved attention compared to placebo. Methods: The investigation was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled three-arm study. Sixty healthy adult women ages 40 - 60 completed a clinical screening visit, including a medical exam. After study enrollment each subject was randomly assigned to one of three groups: a daily oral dose of 250 mg citicoline, 500 mg citicoline, or placebo for 28 days. Participants were evaluated with the Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II), a measure sensitive to attentional function, during a baseline visit and 28 days after baseline. Results: All 60 participants were included in the analyses, which included an ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc tests and t -tests. After 28 days of supplementation, individuals in the 250 mg group made fewer omission ( p = 0.04) and commission ( p = 0.03) errors compared to those in the placebo group. Individuals in the 500 mg group made significantly fewer commission errors compared to those in the placebo group ( p = 0.03) and trended toward making fewer omission errors ( p = 0.07). Conclusion: After 28 days of daily citicoline supplementation, participants who were administered either the 250 mg or the 500 mg citicoline doses showed significantly better ability to produce correct responses on the CPT-II, likely due to improved cognitive inhibition. Our findings suggest that citicoline may improve attentional performance in middle-aged women and may ameliorate attentional deficits associated with central nervous system disorders.