Briefly reviewed are clinical studies of serotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and its metabolites in children with central nervous system diseases which affect brain function. (Author/MC)

A study of neurological examinations, electroencephalographic findings, and behavioral responses to methylphenidate treatment in 57 hyperactive boys, 5 to 10 years of age, is reported and discussed. (Author/MC)

Provides diagnosis and treatment guidelines to safeguard against medication for purely repressive reasons. (Author/JH)

How to identify the learning-disabled child in the classroom and what behaviors are signals is the subject of this article. Suggests steps a teacher should take with a suspected case. (RB)

Observed fluctuations in problem-solving and classroom behaviors for 43 nonmedicated pupils who had attention deficits with hyperkinesis. Results showed that on problem-solving tasks except Digit Span, pupils performed better in the morning. In classroom behavior, all pupils exhibited more interference, off-task, noncompliance, and minor motor…

Responses of 232 children or adults receiving medication for hyperactivity and 100 mothers of these children revealed that teachers were often not included in referral, diagnosis, or withdrawal of medication; standardized evaluation instruments were rarely used; and direct communication with the physician was virtually nonexistent. (Author/CL)

Employed a discriminant analysis with a number of instruments to determine their relative power in classifying hyperactive children. Results indicated that only nine of 27 measures used had the potential to discriminate hyperactive from normal children. Only three measures were needed in the discriminant equation for accurate classification.…

Results confirm previous findings that the revised State University of New York at Stony Brook observation code is a valid instrument for quantifying and discriminating the classroom behavior of children referred because of hyperactive behavior. (Author)

Among the findings were that hyperactive Ss on placebo showed lower rates of task attention and higher rates of gross motor movement, regular and negative verbalization, noise making, physical contact, social initiation, and other responses than did normal Ss and hyperactive Ss on Ritalin. (Author/DLS)

Studies of thioridazine (Mellaril) use for treating childhood behavior disorders (psychosis, hyperactivity, behavior problems, emotional disturbances) were reviewed with a special emphasis on methodology. It was found that the caliber of these studies has been unsatisfactory and that measures of drug effect have tended to stress global rather than…

Historical data and information regarding present functioning (including a neurodevelopmental assessment) were collected on 79 preschool children with behavioral and developmental problems. When compared with a matched cohort of children from the community, the clinic population had a higher incidence of developmental concerns. Journal…

The study was designed to determine the effects of increased stimulation on the hyperactive behavior of three profoundly retarded boys (mean age 14 years). The results of the study indicated that increased stimulation was effective in reducing the Ss' hyperactive behavior. (Author)

Studies that have investigated cognitive behavior therapy methods with clinically relevant child behaviors are reviewed with particular emphasis on subject populations, adequacy of outcome measure, experimental and statistical methodology, and consistency of findings. (MP)