Haloperidol treatment with chronically medicated residents: dose effects on clinical behavior and reinforcement...

Twenty residents, most of whom had previously received neuroleptic maintenance therapy, were assessed in a double blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of haloperidol. Haloperidol was administered in standardized doses of .025 and .05 mg/kg/day, for 3 weeks each. Clinical changes were confined to a slight reduction in ratings of stereotypic behavior and an increase in gross-motor activity under the high dose. Under reinforcement conditions, there was a marked tendency for instruction following performance to improve under the high dose condition. Subjects were divided according to degree of stereotypic behavior. Those with initially high levels of stereotypy tended to show a significantly more favorable response to haloperidol than did those with low levels of stereotypy.