Historical sketches of the beginnings of the academic "Mental and Nervous Diseases" in Brazil, and European influences

Abstract

We present the common milestones of the neurology and psychiatry in Brazil, but, previously, they were summarized in the European matrix. The main psychiatric and neurological historical interceptions may be recognized by the terms neurology, psychiatry, alienism, neurosis and insanity; its organogenesis or socio-and psychogenetic basis; and its proximity or distance from internal medicine.Key words: neurology, psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, history, neurosciences. RESUMOApresentam-se as etapas comuns da neurologia e da psiquiatria no Brasil, porém, essas etapas foram previamente resumidas na matriz europeia. As principais interceptações históricas psiquiátricas e neurológicas podem ser reconhecidas pelos termos neurologia, psiquiatria, alienismo, neurose e insanidade, sua organogênese ou base social e psicogenética e a sua proximidade ou distância da medicina interna.Palavras-Chave: neurologia, psiquiatria, neuropsiquiatria, história, neurociências. Historical sketches of the beginnings of the academic "Mental and Nervous Diseases" in Brazil, and European influencesEsboços históricos do começo acadêmico das "Doenças mentais e nervosas" no Brasil e influências européias The organic basis of psychiatry, or on the opposite direction, the socio-and psychogenetic basis, gives the historical forward or backward tropism to neurology. In this article, we comment on this journey in Brazil, but first we make a summary of the main confluent or differential historical hallmarks of neurology and psychiatry that led their way in Europe. THE NEUROLOGICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC BOUNDARYThe construction of the modern neurology and psychiatry stems from the seventeenth century. The critical points of the parallel history of neurology and psychiatry are shown in Fig 1. In short, the field and development of both specialties came from internal medicine. Much of this initial development was studied by Bogousslavsky and Moulin 1 in a paper that presents the historical backbone of the French neurology and psychiatry. The emergence of neurology as an autonomous and prestigious field occurred in the late nineteenth century in Paris lead by Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893. A chair of Clinical Diseases of the Nervous System (1882) was established at the School of Medicine in Paris and occupied by Charcot. Previously (1875), a chair for Clinic of Mental Illness and Diseases of the Brain was devised, in the same School of Medicine, under Charcot's influence 1 . However, the unity of Charcot's School took place around the study of hysteria, as hysterical women with somatic manifestations were commonly admitted to La Salpêtrière. Indeed, the alienists had always claimed their disinterest for this condition at the time. The alienists were trying to explain all cases of insanities as a result of brain lesions, but they mainly focused on patient management. However,

French school of neurology in the 19 th and first half of the 20th century, and its influence in Brazil

“…João Carlos Teixeira Brandão (1854-1921), the first Bra zilian professor of the chair of "Mental and Nervous Diseases" 2 , the "father" of the Brazilian psychiatry, was inspired by the conceptions of the French alienists, such as Morel's "degenerescence" (Bénédict-Augustin Morel, 1809-1873) 2,4 . He spent time in France, Germany, and Italy to study European Psychiatry.…”

João Carlos Teixeira Brandão, the first Brazilian professor of Psychiatry

“…The division of the chair materialized in 1912, and although Teixeira Brandão was against this measure, Antonio Austregésilo was installed as Professor of Neurology. These developments provided the background for the influential and pioneering School of Psychiatry and Neurology in Brazil 5 .…”

“…The history of Brazilian Neurology and Psychiatry dates back to 1831, when the first articles on these specialties were published 5 . These two branches of Medicine were both formed in Brazil around the National Hospice for the Insane 4,5 .…”

“…The history of Brazilian Neurology and Psychiatry dates back to 1831, when the first articles on these specialties were published 5 . These two branches of Medicine were both formed in Brazil around the National Hospice for the Insane 4,5 . It should be noted that the Chair of Clinical Psychiatry and Nervous Disorders, created in 1881, integrated the specialties of Psychiatry and Neurology, and Teixeira Brandão was responsible for teaching both courses at the School of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro 5 .…”

“…These two branches of Medicine were both formed in Brazil around the National Hospice for the Insane 4,5 . It should be noted that the Chair of Clinical Psychiatry and Nervous Disorders, created in 1881, integrated the specialties of Psychiatry and Neurology, and Teixeira Brandão was responsible for teaching both courses at the School of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro 5 . The division of the chair materialized in 1912, and although Teixeira Brandão was against this measure, Antonio Austregésilo was installed as Professor of Neurology.…”