Abstract
Magnesium pemoline, a mild central nervous system stimulant, increased spontaneous motor activity in rats within 35 min after injection. The effects persisted throughout the 30 min period of observation. Three days later, during the post-drug phase, the drug group exhibited less activity than the control group. If valid, this “rebound” phenomenon may be explained by a central homeostatic inhibitory mechanism which limits overt activity after a period of prolonged hyperexcitability.
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1. This research was supported by a USPHS postdoctoral research fellowship grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (J. J. B.). We should like to thank Dr. Hollis Schoepke of Abbott Laboratories for supplying the drug, Carol Clark for the use of the apparatus, and Karl Emilson for technical assistance.
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Boitano, J.J., Boitano, J.C. Magnesium pemoline: Enhancement of spontaneous motor activity. Psychon Sci 9, 295–296 (1967). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332229
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03332229