Valentin Magnan (16 March 1835 – 27 September 1916) was a French

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

active in the 19th century.

Biography

Valentin Magnan was a native of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

. He studied medicine in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he was a student of

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) and

Jean-Pierre Falret Jean-Pierre Falret (; 26 April 1794 – 28 October 1870) was a French psychiatrist. He was born and died in Marcilhac-sur-Célé.

(1794–1870). From 1867 to the end of his career he was associated with the Hôpital Sainte-Anne in Paris. At Sainte-Anne, he was a long-time colleague to Gustave Bouchereau (1835–1900). Magnan was an influential figure in French psychiatry in the latter half of the 19th century. He is remembered for expanding the concept of degeneration that was first introduced into psychiatry by Bénédict Augustin Morel (1809–1873). Magnan's theory of degeneration was a form of "evolutionary biology" that was based on an hereditary precept. He used terms such as ''bouffée délirante'' (transitory delusional

psychosis In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

) and ''délire chronique évolution systématique'' (chronic systemized delusional disorder) as descriptive categories of mental illness. In 1892 with psychiatrist

Paul Sérieux Paul Sérieux (; 1864–1947) was a French psychiatrist. Paul Sérieux was born in Le Havre on 4 July 1864. His family relocated to Paris when he was a child and he studied medicine in Paris, defending his thesis in 1888. He practiced medicin ...

(1864–1947), he published a monograph on the latter mental state titled ''Le délire chronique a évolution systématique''. Magnan believed that the prodigious use of alcohol, particularly

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...

, was a major factor in what he perceived was a decline of French culture. In his investigations of absinthe he tried to establish a particular "absinthe effect" that wasn't present in other forms of alcohol, and suggested that the delirium of absinthe was different from ''

delirium tremens Delirium tremens (DTs; ) is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. Physical effects may include shaking, sh ...

'' experienced in

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In his research with laboratory animals, Magnan used essence of absinthe ( wormwood), rather than the beverage itself, which contains only a small percentage of wormwood. From his experiments he observed that animals experienced

epileptiform Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain that can cause a variety of symptoms, rang ...

convulsions when exposed to concentrated levels of wormwood.

Associated eponym

* "

Magnan's sign Magnan's sign is a clinical sign in which people with cocaine addiction experience paraesthesia which feels like a constantly moving foreign body, such as fine sand or powder, under the skin.paresthesia Paresthesia is a sensation of the skin that may feel like numbness (''hypoesthesia''), tingling, pricking, chilling, or burning. It can be temporary or Chronic condition, chronic and has many possible underlying causes. Paresthesia is usually p ...

in the psychosis of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

addicts.

Selected written works

* ''Étude expérimentale et clinique sur l'alcoolisme, alcool et absinthe; épilepsie absinthique'', 1871 * ''De l'hémi-anesthésie, de la sensibilité générale et des sens dans l'alcoolisme chronique'' * ''Gazette hebdomadaire de médecine et de chirurgie'', 1873. * ''De l'alcoolisme, des diverses formes de délire alcoolique at de leur traitement'', 1874. * ''Recherches sur les centres nerveux. Pathologie et physiologie pathologique'', 1876 * ''Des anomalies, des aberrations et des perversions sexuelles'', 1885.

Notes

References

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an article from the French Wikipedia.''
Hideous absinthe: a history of the devil in a bottle by Jad Adams

Mondofacto Dictionary
definition of eponym {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnan, Valentin 1835 births 1916 deaths People from Perpignan French psychiatrists History of psychiatry