Transatlantic Crossings: Early neurological exchanges between USA and France.

ABSTRACT

Transnational exchanges have existed for centuries, with both economic and cultural effects. At the end of the 18th century, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, medical education in France underwent radical innovations, prefiguring the training system now almost universally accepted. This paper presents 19th and early 20th century neurology-related exchanges between the United States (US) and Europe, particularly, Paris, which had become a major medical center and where many US neurologists were trained. We discuss some of the intense neurology-related exchanges between the USA and Europe, notably the role of US neurology founders William Alexander Hammond, Silas Weir Mitchell, Edward Seguin as well as Mauritius-born Charles Edouard Brown-Séquard and a few others. We emphasize the mutual benefits that resulted from such exchanges. In later years, the trend reversed with many foreigners, particularly Europeans coming to improve their knowledge in the US. More recently, a shared pattern of travel and enrichment is occurring despite current threats caused by isolationism and undue stress on local identity.