Figures and Institutions of the neurological sciences in Paris from 1800 to 1950. Part IV: Psychiatry and psychology Les figures et institutions des sciences neurologiques à Paris de 1800 à 1950. Partie IV : psychiatrie et psychologie

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 Hôtel-Dieu, the Salpêtrière Hospital and Bicêtre 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 JeanÉtienne 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 * Corresponding author. Service de neurologie C, hô pital neurologique Pierre-Wertheimer, 69677 Bron cedex, France. E-mail address: [email protected] (E. Broussolle). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com 0035-3787/$ – see front matter # 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.neurol.2012.02.007 Author's personal copy