Chapter 40: history of neurology in France

The history of neurology in France is characterized by the very high degree of centralization in that country where "everything seems to happen in Paris," and yet the considerable degree of autonomous diversity in the evolution of some other medical schools such as Montpellier and Strasbourg. It could be argued that France saw the birth of clinical neurology as a separate discipline since Jean Martin Charcot at the Salpêtrière Hospital obtained a chair of diseases of the nervous system in 1892, a first in the history of the academic world. The chapter shows, however, that the work of Charcot was preceded by a long evolution in medical thinking, which culminated with the introduction of experimental medicine developed by Claude Bernard and François Magendie, and by the study of aphasia by Paul Broca and its localization of language in a specific area of the brain. Many of the great neurologists of France like Duchenne de Boulogne, Gilles de la Tourette, Joseph Babinski and Pierre Marie gravitated around Charcot while others like Charles-Edward Brown-Sequard and Jules Dejerine developed their talents independently. The history of Sainte-Anne Hospital further illustrates this independence. It also shows the relation between neurology and psychiatry with Henri Ey, Jean Delay and Pierre Deniker, who collaborated with Henri Laborit in the clinical development of chlorpromazine. Sainte Anne also saw the birth of modern neuropsychology with Henry Hécaen. Jean Talairach and his group developed human stereotaxic neurosurgery and a 3-dimensional brain atlas that is used around the world. The chapter also mentions institutions (the CNRS and INSERM) that have contributed to developments partially independently from medical schools. It concludes with a presentation of schools located outside of Paris that have played a significant role in the development of neurology. Six of the most important ones are described: Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Lyon, and Marseilles.