Using analog baselines to assess the effects of naltrexone on self-injurious behavior

Naltrexone (NLTX), an opiate receptor antagonist, has been prescribed as a pharmacological intervention for the treatment of self-injurious behavior ( SIB). Previous research has investigated NLTX's effects in the absence of i nformation aborts the role of environmental events related to SIE. This stu dy extended previous analyses by administering NLTX on analog baselines usi ng a double-blind, placebo-controlled reversal design. Pretreatment functio nal analysis results showed that the SIE of the two participants occurred i n more that one assessment condition. For one participant NLTX produced sli ght reductions in SIE across baseline conditions. The second participant's results showed that NLTX reduced head-slapping occurring during demand sess ions, but had no apparent effect on head-banging occurring during alone and demand sessions. These outcomes suggest that NLTX may have function- and/o r response-specific treatment effects. The potential utility of this model as a general method for assessing pharmacological interventions, as well as other implications and limitations, are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd.