Western European influence on the development of Russian neurology and psychiatry, part 1: Western European tours of early Russian neurologists and psychiatrists

Abstract

ABSTRACT Beginning in the 1860s, two major centers of neurology and psychiatry arose in Russia: Imperial Moscow University (IMU) and Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg (IMSA). Both centers were strongly influenced by Leading Western European schools and specialists, through the clinical and research training regimes of both Russian universities, strongly influenced these centers of learning. In this study, we elaborate the Western European training of the first Russian specialists in the fields of neurology and neuropsychiatry from IMU and IMSA during the period from the late 1850s to 1900. Although prior studies emphasized the influence of French mentors and institutions, the Western European tours of early Russian specialists often included multiple destinations in Germany, France, and Austria. The most commonly visited cities (in descending order) were Paris, Berlin, Leipsig, and Vienna. The most commonly visited training centers (in descending order) were Hoôpital Salpêtriêre (Paris), Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (Berlin), Charité (Berlin), Universität Leipzig, First Psychiatric Clinic (Vienna), and Hôpital Sainte-Anne (Paris). The most commonly visited mentors, in descending order, were Charcot (Paris), Flechsig (Leipzig), Westphal (Berlin), Meynert (Vienna), and Magnan (Paris). Training of Russian specialists in Western Europe facilitated the emergence and development of the neurological and psychiatric schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg.