Valentin Magnan

Vocation

French psychiatrist. He studied medicine in Lyon and Paris, where he was a student of Jules Baillarger (1809–1890) and Jean-Pierre Falret (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) and délire chronique évolution systématique (chronic systemized delusional disorder) as descriptive categories of mental illness. In 1892 with psychiatrist Paul Sérieux (1864–1947), he published a monograph on the latter mental state titled Le délire chronique a évolution systématique. Magnan believed that the prodiguous use of alcohol, particularly absinthe, was a major factor in what he perceived was a decline of French culture. He died on 28 February 1916. Link to Wikipedia biography