§ Mr. Orbachasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether he will conduct research into the experimental use of glutamic acid fed to educationally subnormal children before authorising such use;
(2) what requests he has received from the local education authority in Stockport with a view to psychologists from local hospitals being allowed to treat educationally subnormal children with glutamic acid; and what reply he gave.
§ Mr. ArmstrongMy right hon. Friend has had no communication from the Stockport Local Education Authority about glutamic acid. The general view among experts appears to be that the efficacy of this acid in improving the intelligence of the mentally retarded is unproven. The rôle of glutamic acid in brain metabolism, however, is being studied in a number of universities and research units.