L'auto-expérimentation physiothérapique et médicamenteuse, d'Esquirol à Cornelia Quarti

Various examples of self-testing of substances and therapeutic methods used in the field of mental medicine are given: shower, rotary machine, electroshock, Datura, nitrous oxide, rye ergot and haschisch, intravenous acetylcholine and chlorpromazine. What drives a doctor to experiment and not to experiment, what personal experience brings to scientific knowledge and medical practice.