IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT LIMBIC SYSTEM DISFUNCTION, REFLECTING EITHER A FOCAL EPILEPTOID MECHANISM AND/OR A MORE GENERALIZED MATURATIONAL LAG OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, CONTRIBUTES TO A SPECIFIC TYPE OF IMPULSIVE AGGRESSIVENESS WHICH LEADS AFFLICTED PERSONS TO COMMIT ANTISOCIAL ACTS. DRUG ACTIVATED ALPHA CHLORALOSE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAMS WERE USED AS AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE OF THE EPILEPTOID AND/OR MATURATIONAL INSTABILITY OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. ADDITIONALLY, SELF-REPORTING SCALES WERE DEVISED TO ESTABLISH MEANS OF DISCONTROL BY SYSTEMATICALLY SCORING BEHAVIOR. UTILIZING THESE TWO DIMENSIONS, A 2-BY-2 MATRIX WAS DEVELOPED FOR CLASSIFYING THE 93 SUBJECTS WITHIN THE FOLLOWING GROUPS: (1) EPILETOID DISCONTROL, (2) HYSTEROID DISCONTROL, (3) INADEQUATE PSYCHOPATH, AND (4) PURE PSYCHOPATH. WHILE THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL CLASSIFICATION WAS FOUND TO HAVE CLINICAL RELEVANCE, THE HEURISTIC VALUE OF SUCH A CLASSIFICATION DEPENDS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DIFFERENT THERAPEUTIC REGIMENS FOR THE FOUR SUBGROUPS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE EPILEPTOID DISCONTROL GROUP WOULD BE EXPECTED TO RESPOND TO ANTICONVULSANT MEDICATION IF THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM IS, AS HYPOTHESIZED, A FOCAL LIMBIC SYSTEM SEIZURE. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS SOME EVIDENCE THAT THE ANTICONVULSANT DRUG PRIMIDONE HAD POSITIVE CLINICAL EFFECTS--MANY OF THE PRISONERS REPORTED THAT WHILE THEY WERE UNDER THE REGIMEN THEY THOUGHT MORE CLEARLY--THE FINAL TEST OF THE VALIDITY OF THIS CLASSIFICATION IN PREDICTING DRUG RESPONSE WILL DEPEND ON STUDIES OF PAROLED AGGRESSORS. TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA ARE PROVIDED, ALONG WITH A BIBLIOGRAPHY. (KBL)