Marc Jeannerod (15 December 1935 – 1 July 2011) was a neurologist, a neurophysiologist and an internationally recognized expert in
cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental process ...
and
experimental psychology. His research focuses on the cognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning
motor control,
motor cognition The concept of motor cognition grasps the notion that cognition is embodied in action, and that the motor system participates in what is usually considered as mental processing, including those involved in social interaction. The fundamental unit o ...
, the
sense of agency, and more recently
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
and
social cognition
Social cognition is a sub-topic of various branches of psychology that focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in social interacti ...
. Jeannerod's work bridges with elegance and rigor various levels of analysis, ranging from
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
to
philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are add ...
, with clear implications for the understanding of a number of psychiatric and neurological disorders, especially
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
.
Background
Marc Jeannerod studied
Medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
at
Claude Bernard University Lyon 1
Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 (french: link=no, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1, UCBL) is one of the three public universities of Lyon, France. It is named after the French physiologist Claude Bernard and specialises in science and technol ...
, France, and specialized in
Neurology
Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...
. He was awarded his MD degree in 1965. He got his research training in experimental medicine, studying the neurobiology of sleep under the supervision of
Michel Jouvet
Michel Valentin Marcel Jouvet (16 November 1925 – 3 October 2017) was a French neuroscientist and medical researcher.
His works, and those of his team, have brought about the discovery of paradoxical sleep (a term he coined) and to its indi ...
, one of the discoverers of
REM sleep. After his medical degree, Jeannerod became a research assistant in the Department of Anatomy at the
University of California at Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, and then at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
with Hans-Lucas Teuber in the Department of Psychology. He subsequently became a professor of
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
at the University Claude Bernard Medical School in Lyon and headed the unit Vision and Motricity of the National Institute of Health and the Medical research (
INSERM) until 1997. He then founded and headed the Institute for Cognitive Sciences of the National Center for Scientific Research (
CNRS) until 2003.
Jeannerod was a member of the
French Academy of Sciences. He was appointed Knight of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
in July 2008. He left behind a wife and four children upon his death.
Editorial duties
Jeannerod was the chief editor of ''
Neuropsychologia
''Neuropsychologia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that focuses on cognitive neuroscience. It was established in 1963, and is published by Elsevier (formerly Pergamon Press
Pergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded ...
'' for ten years. He served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, including ''
NeuroImage
''NeuroImage'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on neuroimaging, including functional neuroimaging and functional human brain mapping. The current Editor in Chief is Michael Breakspear. Abstracts from the annual meeting o ...
'', ''
European Journal of Neuroscience
The ''European Journal of Neuroscience'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of neuroscience. It was established in 1989 with Ray Guillery (then at the University of Oxford) as the founding editor-in-chief. The ...
'', ''
European Journal of Physiology'', ''
NeuroReport'', ''
Physiological Reviews
''Physiological Reviews'' is a journal published quarterly by the American Physiological Society which has been published since 1921. The editor in chief of the journal is Sadis Matalon (University of Alabama at Birmingham). The journal's first ...
'', ''
Journal of Motor Behavior'', ''
Perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
'', ''
Cognition'', ''
Behavioural Brain Research
''Behavioural Brain Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. The journal publishes articles in the field of behavioural neuroscience. Volume 1 appeared in 1980 and issues appeared 6 times per year; as submissions ...
'', and ''
Experimental Brain Research
''Experimental Brain Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in neuroscience. The journal was established in 1966 and is published by Springer Science+Business Media. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the jo ...
''. He had been the president of the
European Brain and Behaviour Society and was at the time of his death the president elect of the
European Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
Academic achievements
Marc Jeannerod's early work in
neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...
and clinical
neuropsychology has significantly contributed to new concepts that have impacted on the field of cognitive
motor control and
motor cognition The concept of motor cognition grasps the notion that cognition is embodied in action, and that the motor system participates in what is usually considered as mental processing, including those involved in social interaction. The fundamental unit o ...
, including
motor imagery, and have led to new vistas for the understanding of higher-order motor disorders. Specifically, he has conducted a number of empirical investigations of clinical disorders including those of bimanual coordination,
apraxia
Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex or corpus callosum), which causes difficulty with motor planning to perform tasks or movements. The nature of the damage determines the disorde ...
and sensorimotor transformation deficits, motor neglect, anarchic hand syndrome, and
imitation
Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our culture. ...
.
More recently, studies conducted in Jeannerod's
INSERM laboratory and
CNRS Institute for Cognitive Science (French: institut des sciences cognitives) led him to advance an original account of the simulation theory in the context of
motor cognition The concept of motor cognition grasps the notion that cognition is embodied in action, and that the motor system participates in what is usually considered as mental processing, including those involved in social interaction. The fundamental unit o ...
and
motor imagery. This theory states that an action involves a covert stage, corresponding to its pragmatic representation, which includes its goal, the means to achieve it, and its consequences. Further, such pragmatic representation may be activated under a variety of conditions in relation to action, either self-intended or perceived from other individuals. Even though this process may have a
conscious
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
counterpart (one can consciously generate a mental image), most of its generation occurs at the covert level. One persuasive source of evidence in support of this view comes from studies using
transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive form of brain stimulation in which a changing magnetic field is used to induce an electric current at a specific area of the brain through electromagnetic induction. An electric pulse gener ...
that show that the mere observation of grasping movements results in the specific modulation of motor-evoked potentials.
Books
* Jeannerod, M. (2011). La Fabrique des idées. Odile Jacob Sciences. Paris.
* Jeannerod, M. (2006). Motor cognition: What actions tell the Self. Oxford University Press.
* Jacob, P. & Jeannerod, M. (2003). Ways of Seeing: The Scope and Limits of Visual Cognition. Oxford University Press.
* Jeannerod, M. (2002). Le Cerveau intime. Paris: Editions Odile Jacob.
* Jeannerod, M. (2002). La Nature de l'esprit. Paris: Editions Odile Jacob.
* Jeannerod, M. (1997). The Cognitive Neuroscience of Action. Wiley-Blackwell.
* Jeannerod, M., & Grafman, J. (1997). Handbook of Neuropsychology, Volume 11. Elsevier Science.
* Jeannerod, M. (1996). De la physiologie mentale: Histoire des relations entre la psychologie et la biologie. Paris: Editions Odile Jacob.
* Jeannerod, M. (1988). The Neural and Behavioural Organization of Goal-Directed Movements. Oxford University Press.
* Jeannerod, M. (1987). Neurophysiological & Neuropsychological Aspects of Spatial Neglect. Elsevier BV.
* Jeannerod, M. (1985). The Brain Machine: The Development of Neurophysiological Thought. Harvard University Press.
Selected publications
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See also
*
Cognitive Science
*
Neuropsychology
*
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...
*
Motor cognition The concept of motor cognition grasps the notion that cognition is embodied in action, and that the motor system participates in what is usually considered as mental processing, including those involved in social interaction. The fundamental unit o ...
*
Mental Practice of Action
Motor imagery is a mental process by which an individual rehearses or simulates a given action. It is widely used in sport training as mental practice of action, neurological rehabilitation, and has also been employed as a research paradigm in cogn ...
*
Motor imagery
*
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
*
Neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...
*
Sense of agency
*
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
*
Experimental psychology
References
External links
Interview with Marc JeannerodUniversity Claude Bernard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeannerod, Marc
2011 deaths
French neuroscientists
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
French psychologists
Behavioral neuroscientists
1935 births