Patients will receive valnoctamide or identical capsules of placebo as assigned by the control psychiatrist according to random order; manic and schizoaffective manic patients will be randomized separately. Weekly ratings by a psychiatrist blind to the study drug will be conducted using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMS), and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI). Primary outcome measure will be BPRS. Weekly blood will be drawn for drug levels of valnoctamide to be measured by gas chromatography (19). Each patient will receive valnoctamide or placebo for 5 weeks.