Historical Development of the Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia

This review examines the history of discoveries that contributed to development of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. The origin of the hypothesis is traced to the recognition that neuroleptic drugs interfere with brain dopamine function. This insight was derived from two distinct lines of research. The first line originated from the discovery in 1956 that reserpine depletes brain serotonin. This finding resulted in a sequence of studies that led to the discovery that brain dopamine is involved in neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal motor disturbances. The second line of research was aimed at determining the mechanism of action of psychomotor stimulants. This research produced evidence that stimulants directly or indirectly activate brain dopamine receptors. Because nonreserpine neuroleptics such as chlorpromazine block stimulant-induced movement, these findings suggested that neuroleptics were dopamine antagonists. Most previous accounts of the development of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia emphasize the first line of research and ignore the second.     

The Myth of Reserpine-Induced Depression: Role in the Historical Development of the Monoamine Hypothesis

For five decades it has been generally accepted that reserpine, an antihypertensive and antipsychotic drug, causes depression. The discovery that reserpine depletes brain monoamines was an important factor in the development of the monoamine hypothesis of depression, and it continues to be widely cited in support of this hypothesis. The present paper argues that, contrary to prevailing belief, reserpine is not depressogenic. The reason for perpetuation of this myth is reluctance to discard the monoamine hypothesis. This hypothesis ushered the modern biochemical paradigm into psychiatry and is still of great importance. It serves as a heuristic to guide research, it enhances psychiatry’s prestige, and it helps to validate and promote drug therapy for depression and other mental disorders.     

Notes and news from all over India

Allen G. Noble and Ashok K. Dutt, Editors. India: Cultural Patterns and Processes. Westview Special Studies on South and Southeast Asia. Boulder, Colorado, 1982. xiv + 378 pp. $18.00.     

Editor's Introduction

Hannaford, Ivan. Race: The History of an Idea in the West. Washington, DC: The Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1996. xvii + 448 pp. including chapter references and index. $19.95 paper.

Hoberman, John. Darwin's Athletes: How Sports Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race. New York: Houghton Miffin, 1997. xxvi + 341

Williams, Vernon J., Jr. Rethinking Race: Franz Boas and His Contemporaries. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1996. ix +152 pp. including chapter references and index. $34.95 cloth.

Wolpoff, Milford and Rachel Caspari. Race and Human Evolution: A Fatal Attraction. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. 463 pp. including chapter references and index. $26.00 cloth.