The studies making up the present report are a direct outgrowth of a previous investigation published in this journal.28In the earlier study it was found that depressed patients are hyperponetic. Hyperponesis is a neurophysiologic state. It is a state of hyperactivity in neurons composing the motor portion of the nervous system, that is, the portion extending from the motor and premotor cortex to the peripheral musculature. This exaggerated motor activity is, for the most part, invisible to the naked eye, and the person producing it does so unknowingly. It can be confined to a portion of the motor system or generalized to include the whole motor system. It can be continuous or intermittent, static or phasic. Although this exaggerated motor state for the most part cannot be detected with the unaided eye, it can be measured accurately by means of appropriate electromyographic techniques. It can