EFFECT OF GLUTAMIC ACID ON MENTAL FUNCTIONING IN CHILDREN AND IN ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

THE PRESENT experiment is designed to investigate the effect of I (+)-glutamic acid on mental functioning in human subjects and is an outgrowth of a recent study by Zimmerman and Ross¹ on the effect of glutamic acid on maze learning in the white rat. In that experiment 200 mg. of glutamic acid was added to the diet of normal white rats for two weeks and its administration continued during the period of training. It was found that the glutamic acid group learned a simple maze much faster than the control group. In fact, the total number of trials required to learn was less than half that taken by the controls. The results were statistically significant in terms of time and accuracy scores, as well as in number of trials required to master the maze. The enhancement of learning was sufficiently striking to warrant an experimental investigation in the clinical