
Jules Cotard’s Delusion
Jules Cotard (June 1, 1840 – August 19, 1889) was a French neurologist who is best known for first describing the Cotard delusion, the delusional belief that you are dead, do not exist or do not have bodily organs.
He studied medicine in Paris and later went on to work as an intern at Hospice de la Salpetriere, where he worked for, among others, Jean-Martin Charcot. He became particularly interested in cerebrovascular accidents (commonly known as “strokes”) and their consequences and undertook autopsies to better understand how these affected the brain.
In 1869 Cotard left Salpetriere at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and joined an infantry regiment as a regimental surgeon.
Cotard moved to the town of Vanves in 1874 where he remained for the last 15 years of his life. He made particular contributions to the understanding of diabetes and delusions.
In August 1889, Cotard’s daughter contracted diphtheria and he reportedly refused to leave her bedside for 15 days until she recovered. He eventually contracted the illness himself and died on August 19.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Popular Posts
- The Love Drug
- Women After Sex
- Fatty Acids and Suicide Risk
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- Mental Health Disorders Prevalent Among Youth Worldwide
- Is Giftedness Nothing More than Good Genes?
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
- Behind the Masks - The Mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder
- The NeuroSocial Network
Future Posts
- The Brain’s Buying Power
Latest Posts
- Aging Intelligently
- A Nicotine Patch a Day Keeps the Cognitive Impairment Away
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
- Diabetes Impairs Cognition
- Media Violence Leads to Real Violence
- Intelligence – Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Childhood Aggression Predicts Health Care Use Later in Life
- The Brain’s Border Patrol – Blood Brain Barrier
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- BED-head and Obesity – Food for Thought
Comments
- peter: I also see things the same way
- Scapadas Amorosas: Lets patent it, package, marke
- Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments, Matt
- Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments and s
- Alex: While we have our eyes glued t
- Richard Kensinger, MSW: Carla,You are absolutely c
- Soraya L. Valles: I'm interested in astrocytes.
- Raymond Tallis: Dear Kitty, I have come to you
- Steven: After smoking for 17 years dai
- Matt: I'm just interested in hearing
- Carla Easley: If everyone adopted the "Growt
- Isabel (retired RN): I second that query for resear









No Responses