Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitive function in young adults

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#adult #analysis-of-variance #body-mass-index #cognition #creatine

Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitive function in young adults

Rawson et al., 2008 | Physiol Behav | Rct

Citation

Rawson Eric S, Lieberman Harris R, ... Matthews Tracy C. Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitive function in young adults. Physiol Behav. 2008-Sep-03;95(1-2):130-4. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.05.009

Abstract

Creatine supplementation has been reported to improve certain aspects of cognitive and psychomotor function in older individuals and in young subjects following 24 and 36 h of sleep deprivation. However, the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive processing and psychomotor performance in non-sleep deprived young adults have not been assessed with a comprehensive battery of neurocognitive tests. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive processing and psychomotor performance in young adults. Twenty-two subjects (21+/-2 yr) ingested creatine (0.03 g/kg/day) or placebo for 6 weeks in a double-blind placebo-controlled fashion. Subjects completed a battery of neurocognitive tests pre- and post-supplementation, including: simple reaction time (RT), code substitution (CS), code substitution delayed (CSD), logical reasoning symbolic (LRS), mathematical processing (MP), running memory (RM), and Sternberg memory recall (MR). There were no significant effects of group, no significant effects of time, and no significant group by time interactions for RT, CS, CSD, LRS, MP, RM, and MR (all p>0.05), indicating that there were no differences between creatine and placebo supplemented groups at any time. These results suggest that six weeks of creatine supplementation (0.03/g/kg/day) does not improve cognitive processing in non-sleep deprived young adults. Potentially, creatine supplementation only improves cognitive processing and psychomotor performance in individuals who have impaired cognitive processing abilities.

Key Findings

Potentially, creatine supplementation only improves cognitive processing and psychomotor performance in individuals who have impaired cognitive processing abilities.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population older individuals
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range See abstract
Condition sleep

MeSH Terms

  • Adult
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Body Mass Index
  • Cognition
  • Creatine
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Psychomotor Performance

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Rct
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Vertical: creatine-cognition

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09