[Claude Fortier: the great history of neuroendocrinology]

The work of Claude Fortier is linked to the history of neuroendocrinology. Through him and his pioneer work in Montreal with Hans Selye, the << Man of stress >>, and at Laval University in Quebec City in his own laboratory, where all researchers involved in the study of the hypothalamo-hypophysial adrenal axis have been through, it is the whole saga of the search for the neuropeptide CRH (corticotropin releasing factor), and the harsh fight for the Nobel distinction that can be related. Among Claude Fortier's scientific discoveries, the feedback mechanisms of glucocorticoid hormones on brain and pituitary function, the presence of both mineralo and glucocorticoid receptors in some brain structures, and the introduction of computer science in biomedical research, can be cited. The consequences of these discoveries are illustrated in the pathologies linked to stress (anxiety, depression, addiction). Claude Fortier was not only a great figure in biomedical science, honored by several distinctions, but also an important personality in the policy of research in which he played a prominent role in Quebec medical research and allowed it to rank among the best in the world.