Article

We present a short historical review on the major institutions and figures who
contributed to make Paris a renowned centre of physiology and neurology during
the XIXth and the first half of the XXth century. We purposely chose to focus on
the period 1800-1950, as 1800 corresponds to the actual beginning of
neurosciences, and as 1950 marks their exponential rise. Our presentation is
divided into four chapters, matching the main disciplines that have progressed
and contributed most to the knowledge we have of the brain sciences: anatomy,
physiology, neurology, and psychiatry-psychology. The present article is the
fourth of the four parts of this review, which deals with the chapter on
psychiatry and psychology. When the French Revolution occurred, only a few
institutions were taking care of the mentally ill. In the Paris area, these
included Maison Royale de Charenton, Les Petites Maisons, and one of the
departments of larger hospitals such as Hotel-Dieu, the Salpetriere Hospital and
Bicetre Hospital. One of the founders of psychiatry in Paris at that time and
thereafter was Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) who was the first to distinguish
insane/alienated patients from misfits, beggars, and other vagabonds. During the
first half of the XIXth century, his student Jean-Etienne Esquirol (1772-1840)
also played a major role with his treatise on mental diseases and the 1838 law
and the creation of asylums in all parts of France. Alienists were in general
caregivers and learned by themselves. In contrast, at the academic level, the
emerging disciplines psychiatry and neurology were very close to each other in
the second half of the XIXth century, the best example being Jules Baillarger
(1809-1890). The actual development of psychiatry and psychology and the
foundation of psychoanalysis later in the XIXth century and in the first half of
the XXth century owed much to several European doctors and scientists,
particularly those from British institutions and from German-speaking
universities in Central Europe. In France, important advances were once again
initiated in Paris by Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) and some of his pupils who
renewed the concept of hysteria and the use of hypnosis. Sainte-Anne Hospital was
created in 1867. This new institution located in the southern part of Paris
became (and is still) one of the most important places in France for the
treatment, research and teaching of mental diseases. Thereafter started new
disciplines such as clinical psychology and neuropsychology; the scientific basis
of psychology and notably the psychopathology hypothesis were established. A
major revolutionary step occurred in Paris in the early 1950s with the discovery
of neuroleptics and the birth of psychopharmacology. Here we present the
biographical sketches of the most important Parisian scientists of these
disciplines from that era, Philippe Pinel, Jean-Etienne Esquirol, Theodule Armand
Ribot, Pierre Janet, Henri Louis Charles Pieron, Henry Ey, Jean Delay, Henri
Laborit and Henri Hecaen.
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Langue : ANGLAIS