Reaction-time performance and heart-rate responses associated with attention were used to assess the hyperactive child's attentional deficit and his response to methylphenidate. Attentional deficits shown by long response latencies were reflected in heart-rate responses theoretically incompatible with sustained attention. Subjects exhibiting the greatest attentional deficit displayed the most favorable response to methylphenidate in both reaction-time performance and physiological measures. However, subjects who showed the greatest improvement in social behavior were those who showed the least improvement in reaction-time performance.
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Porges et al. (1975) studied this question.
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