Amphetamine's Paradoxical Effects May Be Predictable

Abstract

It is suggested that the so-called paradoxical calming or depressant effects of amphetamine on both normal adults and hyperactive children can be accounted for by the proposition that amphetamines will increase arousal when the initial level of arousal is low but will decrease arousal when the initial level of arousal is high. Such a model is consistent with recent evidence that hyperactive children suffer from under-arousal rather than overarousal.