Date of Award

8-1991

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. R. Wayne Fuqua

Second Advisor

Dr. William Redmon

Third Advisor

Dr. Jack Michael

Abstract

The effects of methylphenidate on the repeated acquisition performance of three children between the ages of 9 and 13 were examined. The repeated acquisition task was programmed on a micro computer and daily doses of 0.6 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg of methylphenidate were compared with an active placebo (caffeine). There was no discernible effect for two of the subjects. One subject showed only a very slight facilitative effect at the 1.0 mg/kg dose, using trials-to-criterion as the dependent measure. Methylphenidate had no effect on errors or rate of responding for any of the subjects. Teacher ratings of behavior indicated improvement during both drug conditions for one subject, and no improvement for two of the subjects during either of the drug conditions. Parent ratings of behavior did not correspond to drug manipulations for any of the subjects.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

Included in

Psychology Commons

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