Tombe de Moreau Jacques Joseph (division 3)

Jacques-Joseph Moreau (3 June 1804 – 26 June 1884), nicknamed "Moreau de Tours", was a French psychiatrist and member of the Club des Hashischins. Moreau was the first physician to do systematic work on drugs' effects on the central

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...

, and to catalogue, analyze, and record his observations.

Works

After a long trip (1836–1840) in the Orient, he discovered the effect of hashish. He studied it in order to understand the relation between madness and dreams, which are similar deliriums, according to Moreau. He was the author of the 184
''Du Hachisch et de l'aliénation mentale''
later translated into English and published as ''Hashish and Mental Illness''. He was the first doctor to publish a work about a drug and its effect on the central nervous system.Hans Bangen: ''Geschichte der medikamentösen Therapie der Schizophrenie.'' Berlin 1992, Page 22. "In an era which finally viewed the human

psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

in a natural humanist terms rather than as the uncontrollable supernatural domain of demons and angels. Through careful observation of people's reactions, including his own, to hashish—particularly their openness to suggestions and willingness to consider new possibilities—Moreau theorized that psychoactive substances could treat or replicate mental illness in a way to help cure patients. His 1845 studies on datura and hashish were prepared as a treatise that documented both physical and mental benefits, and ultimately led to modern

psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc, ψῡχή, psȳkhē, breath, life, soul, label=none; grc, φάρμακον, pharmakon, drug, label=none; and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mo ...

and the use of numerous

psychotomimetic A drug with psychotomimetic (also known as psychotogenic) actions mimics the symptoms of psychosis, including delusions and/or delirium, as opposed to only hallucinations. Psychotomimesis is the onset of psychotic symptoms following the administrati ...

drug treatments." ("Hemp for Health" Chris Conrad p 20) Pierre Janet identified him as one of his predecessors who had recognized "the pathological role played by grief and emotion" in creating vulnerability to psychological problems. In 1843 with

Jules Baillarger Jules Baillarger, full name Jules Gabriel François Baillarger (25 March 1809 – 31 December 1890), was a French neurologist and psychiatrist. Biography Baillarger was born in Montbazon, France. He studied medicine at the University of Paris u ...

(1809–1890),

François Achille Longet François Achille Longet (25 May 1811 – 20 April 1871) was a French anatomist and physiologist who was a native of Saint Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines. He was a student of François Magendie (1783–1855), and a pioneer in the field of experimental ...

(1811–1871) and Laurent Alexis Philibert Cerise (1807–1869), he founded the psychiatric journal ''Annales médico-psychologiques''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreau, Jacques-Joseph 1804 births 1884 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Cannabis researchers Cannabis in France French psychiatrists