Effect of Magnesium Pemoline and Methylphenidate on Memory Improvement and Mood in Normal Aging Subjects

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of magnesium pemoline (Cylert) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) on the memory and mood of normal aging persons. Seventy-eight subjects, aged 60 and over, were randomly assigned in double blind fashion to one of the two drug conditions or to a placebo. Subjects were administered the WAIS vocabulary subtest, the Guild Memory Test, and a mood scale at the beginning of the study and the mood scale and alternate forms of the memory test in the middle and at the end of the experiment. Laboratory examinations were conducted at the beginning and end of the six week period and physical examinations were given weekly. Results showed no differential drug effects between the three groups on any of the six memory functions measured or between sub-groups of differing intellectual levels. There were, however, tentative indications that Cylert increased depression and worrisomeness and that Ritalin reduced fatigue. No physical side effects or significant changes in laboratory examinations were found on all but two subjects. These two individuals, apparently hypersensitive to Cylert, showed hepatic toxicity, but the resultant elevations on some tests quickly subsided when the drug was withdrawn.

Magnesium Pemoline: Enhancement of Performance

Magnesium pemoline did not affect performance of rats on a 1-way avoidance task in the absence of a discrete conditioned stimulus but enhanced avoidance when a 75-db buzzer was used. These results suggest that MgPe increases the excitatory properties of a strong conditioned stimulus.

SYMPOSIUM: BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION BY DRUGS

A number of myths have grown up regarding the behavioral effects and use of stimulant medications with children. The first is that there is a type of child uniquely responsive to stimulant compounds, namely, the hyperkinetic child. The second is that the hyperkinetic child is any child who is sufficiently overactive to be considered a menace by adults. The third is that the stimulant medications act primarily to reduce motor activity in a paradoxical "sedative" fashion; and finally, that the drugs do not influence cognitive and perceptual functioning in these children. I believe that these myths are due partly to the historical accident of the manner in which they were first studied, partly to the imprecision in diagnosis and terminology of classification of patients, and partly to the paucity of systematic data on sufficiently large samples under sufficiently varied experimental conditions. I would like to present the results of studies which bear on these issues, and try to draw some general conclusions regarding the present state of knowledge with regard to the use of the various psychostimulants. In this paper I will deal with dextroamphetamine, methylphenidate, and magnesium pemoline. I. METHYLPHENIDATE AND DEXTROAMPHETAMINE The children for this study were referred from schools, pediatricians, and social agencies for either academic or behavioral difficulties, or both. The subjects retained for the drug study comprised about ⅔ of the original referral sample. They were selected to fit the description of the child with "minimal brain dysfunction" as defined by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS) Task Force I report.