Perinatal Profiles: Dr Colette Dreyfus-Brisac: Development of Brain Electrocortical Activity

Abstract

The new Port Royal Hospital Maternity was built in the 1960s to replace the old 17th century Paris Maternity. Under the direction of Alexandre Minkowski, (1) it became one of the most important integrated European perinatal research centers of its time, attracting prolonged visits from world-famous foreign physicians. Studies were conducted there on the normal and pathologic developing neonatal brain. A team of neurophysiologists, directed by Dr Colette Dreyfus (1916–2006), (2) worked in close contact with neonatologists and pediatric neurologists. Her first publication in 1947 with Dr Fischgold, her mentor, was signed Brisac, her maiden name. (3) By 1950, she had published a second paper under the name Dreyfus-Brisac. (4) Dr Jean-Claude Dreyfus, a renowned biochemist, was her husband. To her coworkers, she was Madame Dreyfus. The laboratory in which they worked, located on the fifth floor of the maternity, was superbly equipped. From there, already in 1965, the neurophysiologists could observe with closed circuit television the behavior of any sick infant undergoing electroencephalography (EEG). Healthy babies were studied either at the mother's bedside or in the laboratory, if follow-up was required. Dr Dreyfus worked quietly and came down every morning from her fifth floor laboratory to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). After passing through the extraordinary infection control measures at the entrance and covered from head to foot with white hat, mask, gown, and white boots, she discussed the patient's history with the NICU staff to determine the best candidates for an EEG study. She stood at the side of the incubator, with the discussion taking place above the Plexiglas® hood. The preterm baby was undisturbed by our whispered conversation. Her very soft voice, combined with an acute observation of the patient and merry look, easily convinced the young residents to propose infants for study. She was the …