Abstract: An improved method of treating anxious and/or depressed patients involves direct administration of pharmaceutically purified 6-hydroxy-8-[4-[4-(2-pyrimidinyl)-piperazinyl]-butyl]-8-azaspiro[4.5]-7,9-dione(6-hydroxybuspirone) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or hydrate thereof formulated in appropriate pharmaceutical compositions to patients in need of such treatment.

Abstract: A series of pyprimidinyl compounds of formulae I, II and III; ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are independently selected from hydrogen and hydroxy;R.sup.3 is selected from hydrogen, hydroxy, or oxo, with the proviso that R.sup.3 can only be oxo when R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are hydrogen, and further that R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 cannot all be hydrogen or hydroxy at the same time; andthe solid and dotted lines refer to either a double covalent bond or a single covalent bond with another hydrogen atom covalently bonded to the carbon terminus end.The compounds of this invention possess cognition and memory enhancing activity.