History of Neuropsychology in France

Abstract Neuropsychology in France has a long tradition, beginning with Paul Broca, Jean-Martin Charcot, and their followers who established an anatomo-clinical approach, operating primarily within the field of neurology. Henri Hécaen at Sainte Anne and François Lhermitte at the Salpêtrière in the 1950s–1960s introduced the methodology of experimental and cognitive international neuropsychology into French neuropsychology. Subsequently, most research in neuropsychology has been conducted by psychologists in collaboration with national research organizations. The development and practice of clinical neuropsychology grew in the 1980s in response to needs for the diagnosis and care of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. In the end, advances in the science and psychology of the field of neuropsychology have resulted in its institutionalization within France, but its establishment as an independent profession and discipline remains incomplete.