Michel Valentin Marcel Jouvet (16 November 1925 – 3 October 2017) was a French

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, neural circuits, and glial ...

and medical researcher. His works, and those of his team, have brought about the discovery of

paradoxical sleep Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep or REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds, characterized by random rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied by low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream v ...

(a term he coined) and to its individualisation as the third state of functioning of the brain (1959), to the discovery of its

phylogenesis Phylogenesis (from Greek φῦλον ''phylon'' "tribe" + γένεσις ''genesis'' "origin") is the biological process by which a taxon (of any rank) appears. The science that studies these processes is called phylogenetics. These terms may be ...

, of its

ontogenesis Ontogeny (also ontogenesis) is the origination and development of an organism (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development), usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the st ...

and its main mechanisms. Jouvet was the researcher who first developed the

analeptic An analeptic, in medicine, is a central nervous system stimulant. The term "analeptic" typically refers to respiratory analeptics (for example, doxapram). Analeptics are central nervous system (CNS) stimulants that include a wide variety of medica ...

drug Modafinil.

Career

Jouvet was Professor of Experimental Medicine at the

University of Lyon The University of Lyon (french: Université de Lyon), located in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 11 members and 24 associated institutions. The three main universities in this center are: C ...

. He was Director of the Research Unit INSERM U 52 ( Molecular Onirology) and of the Associated Unit UA 1195 of the CNRS (states of vigilance

neurobiology 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 ...

). He spent one year in the laboratory of Horace Magoun in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

in 1955. He then undertook research in both experimental

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 ...

at the Faculty of Medicine of Lyon and

clinical neurophysiology Clinical neurophysiology is a medical specialty that studies the central and peripheral nervous systems through the recording of bioelectrical activity, whether spontaneous or stimulated. It encompasses both research regarding the pathophysiology ...

at the Neurological Hospital of Lyon. He described the

electroencephalogram Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...

signs of cerebral death in 1959, and in 1961 categorized

sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

into two different states: telencephalic (slow wave) sleep and rhombencephalic sleep (paradoxical sleep, known as REM sleep in English-language writings on the subject). He mapped the areas of the brain that are responsible for REM. His review "Paradoxical sleep mechanisms" was published in the journal ''Sleep'' in 1994. In ''The Paradox of Sleep'' (MIT Press, 1999) Jouvet proposed the speculative theory that the purpose of

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

ing is a kind of iterative neurological programming that works to preserve an individual's psychological heredity, the basis of personality. He also wrote a novel, ''The Castle of Dreams''. In 1959, Jouvet conducted several experiments on

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

s regarding muscle atonia ( paralysis) during REM sleep. Jouvet demonstrated that the generation of REM sleep depends on an intact

pontine tegmentum Pontine may refer to: * Having to do with the pons, a structure located in the brain stem (from ''pons'', "bridge") * Pontine Marshes, a region of Italy near Rome * Pontine Islands The Pontine Islands (, also ; it, Isole Ponziane ) are an ar ...

and that REM atonia is due to an inhibition of motor centres in the medulla oblongata. Cats with

lesions A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals. Types There is no designated classifi ...

around the locus coeruleus have less restricted muscle movement during REM sleep, and show a variety of complex behaviours including motor patterns suggesting that they are dreaming of attack, defence and exploration. Jouvet's research led to the identification of REM sleep behavior disorder.

Honors and awards

He was elected in 1977 to the French Academy of Sciences and received the Intra-Sciences Prize in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1981 and the Prize of the Foundation for the Medical Research in 1983. In 1991 he was awarded the prestigious

Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (191 ...

. The Sleep Research Society presented him with its Distinguished Scientist Award in 1990. In June 2003, Jouvet was recognized at the 17th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

Death

Jouvet died at age 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jouvet, Michel Valentin Marcel 1925 births 2017 deaths Electroencephalographers People from Lons-le-Saunier French educators French medical researchers Sleep researchers Dream Members of the French Academy of Sciences French neuroscientists

Career

Honors and awards

Death

See also

References