Did some 18th and 19th century treatments for mental disorders act on the brain?

Review of 18th and 19th century psychiatric therapies raises the possibility that several may have altered the activity of vasopressin or Na-K-ATPase. Bleeding, whirling, nausea created by medicines, and vagus nerve stimulation by application of electricity through the skin all perturb the hypothalamic hormone, arginine vasopressin, while helleborus and digitalis inhibit the sodium pump enzyme, Na-K-ATPase. These approaches were used with reported benefit many years ago, acting on the brain in ways ongoing research suggests may play a role in affective disorders. Study of long-abandoned treatments may clarify their mechanisms of action and the characteristics of responsive patients.