In the late fifties, Dr. Nathan Kline treated schizophrenia patients with the drug reserpine, an alkaloid isolated from Rauwolfia serpentina. The antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine appeared around the same time. In 1955, Bleurer and Stoll wrote,
"...reserpine and chlorpromazine soothe and relax patients to an extent formerly unknown to the doctors writing this report. . . after 2-3 days of excessive sleeping, from which the patient can be awakened, the patient's mood is more indifferent, less impulsive, quieter, and more relaxed."Some antipsychotic drugs including chlorpromazine and reserpine have affinity for both dopamine and serotonin receptors.
References
BLEULER, M. and W.A. STOLL 1955. Clinical use of reserpine in psychiatry: Comparison with chlorpromazine. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 61, 167-173. DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1955.tb42463.x
