FROM THE “SCHIZOPHRENIC RAT” TO THE HOSTILE CHILD: THE DEVELOPMENT OF RISPERIDONE AND ITS USE IN THE TREATMENT OF YOUTH AGGRESSION

Abstract

Risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic, is frequently associated with the treatment of youth aggressive behavior in
both research and clinical practice. The development history of the medication shows that from the very first tri-als, its effects covered a variety of symptoms not exclusive
to schizophrenia. Through the inclusion of agitation in
the “Neuroleptic activity spectra”, an experimental model
of psychotic symptomatology, aggression became a prime
area for the practical application of risperidone. Its “specific” action on aggression, combined with a professed
absence of detrimental secondary effects, was the principal reason for its use with children. Beside anecdotic cases
studies, open and double-blind trials continuously
extended the range of application of risperidone amongst
children with developmental disorders characterized by
aggressive behavior, thus allowing for off-label uses of the
drug based on the reductive perception of aggression as a
generic symptom.