Much of this information comes from studies that Wolraich and other researchers did in the 1990s.For instance, the researchers found that mothers rated their sons as more hyperactive when told that the boys had ingested sugar, even when the children hadn't done so, according to a 1994 study in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. In the study, 35 boys ages 5 to 7 were given a drink containing an artificial sweetener called aspartame, which is not made of sugar, but rather of amino acids. Half of the mothers were told that their boys had received sugar.When the researchers asked the moms about their sons' behavior, the women who were told their sons were given sugar rated their children as more hyperactive,