[30 years later. The story of the discovery of neuroleptics]

The first trial use of neuroleptics for psychiatric purposes took place on 9 November 1951 at Villejuif psychiatric Hospital. It consisted in the administration of chlorpromazine to a female psychiatrist on the staff of the hospital. The protocol drawn up during the session indicates the characteristic effects of chlorpromazine on the subject's emotional state. The experiment was taken no further at Villejuif. The author subsequently abandoned psychopharmacology in favour of research into psychosomatics.