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Jean Pierre Flourens | |
|---|---|
 Jean Pierre Flourens | |
| Born | 13 April 1794 Maureilhan, France |
| Died | 6 December 1867(1867-12-06) (aged 73) Montgeron, France |
| Known for | anesthesia |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | physiologist |
Marie Jean Pierre Flourens (13 April 1794 – 6 December 1867), father ofGustave Flourens, was a Frenchphysiologist, the founder of experimentalbrain science, and a pioneer inanesthesia.
Flourens was born atMaureilhan, nearBéziers, in thedépartement ofHérault. At fifteen he began studyingmedicine atMontpellier, where he received the degree ofdoctor in 1813. In the following year he went toParis, carrying an introduction fromA. P. de Candolle, the botanist, toGeorges Cuvier, who received him kindly, and took an interest in him. In Paris, Flourens engaged inphysiological research, occasionally contributing to publications; and, in 1821, at theAthénée, he gave a course of lectures on the physiological theory of thesensations, which attracted much attention amongst men of science.[1]
In 1815, Flourens pioneered the experimental method of carrying out localizedlesions of the brain in livingrabbits andpigeons and carefully observing their effects on motricity, sensibility andbehavior. His intention was to investigate localisationism, i.e., whether different parts of the brain had different functions, as the Austrian physicianFranz Joseph Gall, the founder ofphrenology, was proposing.[citation needed] The trouble was that Gall did not use a proper scientific approach to his affirmations. In 1825, Flourens was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[2]
Flourens was able to demonstrate convincingly for the first time that the main divisions of the brain were indeed responsible for largely different functions. By removing thecerebral hemispheres, for instance, all perceptions, motricity, andjudgment were abolished. The removal of thecerebellum affected the animal'sequilibrium andmotor coordination, while the destruction of thebrainstem (medulla oblongata) caused death. These experiments led Flourens to the conclusion that the cerebral hemispheres are responsible for higher cognitive functions, that the cerebellum regulates and integrates movements, and that the medulla controls vital functions, such ascirculation,respiration and general bodily stability.[citation needed] On the other hand, he was unable (probably because his experimental subjects have relatively primitive cortex) to find specific regions formemory andcognition, which led him to believe that they are represented in a diffuse form around the brain. So, different functions could indeed be ascribed to particular regions of the brain, but a finer localization was lacking.
Flourens, by destroying the horizontal semicircular canal ofpigeons, noted that they continue to fly in a circle, showing the purpose of the semicircular canals.[citation needed]
Flourens was chosen by Cuvier in 1828 to deliver a course of lectures on natural history at theCollège de France, and in the same year became, in succession toLAG Bosc, a member of the Institute, in the division "Economic rurale." In 1830 he became Cuvier's substitute as lecturer on humananatomy at theJardin du Roi, and in 1832 was elected to the post of titular professor, which he vacated for the professorship ofcomparative anatomy created for him at the museum of the Jardin the same year. In 1833 Flourens, in accordance with the dying request of Cuvier, was appointed a perpetual secretary of the Academy of Sciences; and in 1838 he was returned as a deputy for thearrondissement of Béziers. In 1840 he was elected, in preference toVictor Hugo, to succeedJean François Michaud at theFrench Academy; and in 1845 he was created a commander of thelégion d'honneur, and in the next year a peer of France. In 1841, he was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences.[1]
In March 1847 Flourens drew the attention of the Academy of Sciences to theanesthetic effect ofchloroform on animals.[1]
On the revolution of 1848 he withdrew completely from political life; and in 1855 he accepted the professorship of natural history at theCollège de France. He died at Montgeron, near Paris on 6 December 1867.[1]
Flourens was an opponent ofDarwinism and criticized the idea ofnatural selection. In 1864, he authoredExamen du livre du M. Darwin sur l'Origine des Espèces.[3] He refuted the arguments ofspontaneous generation.[4]
He was acreationist and he defended thefixity of species.[5][6] Flourens criticizedCharles Darwin for personifying nature. He argued that natural selection is a contradictory term as nature does not select.[7] Flourens' book was never translated into English and no reviewers attempted to refute his arguments in detail. However,Thomas Henry Huxley took issue with his criticism of Darwinism, noting that "his objections to details are of the old sort, so battered and hackneyed on this side of the Channel, that not even a Quarterly Reviewer could be induced to pick them up for the purpose of pelting Mr. Darwin over again."[7]
Besides numerous shorter scientific memoirs, Flourens published:
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Flourens, Marie Jean Pierre".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 553.