#Future fragments v015 free#

The Ancient Greeks used the term pharmacon to describe material of this type. This use demonstrated the presence in the plant of an active substance.

#Future fragments v015 free#

So, what is nicotine and where does it come from? Amerindian populations have used tobacco for thousands of years, in the treatment of disease, to free the body of the “demons” possessing it. Louis Pasteur, through his early work, demonstrated the existence of stereospecific recognition based on elementary chemistry. Claude Bernard, with his “ Leçons sur les substances toxiques et médicamenteuses” taught at the Collège de France in 1857, was responsible for establishing an experimental methodology, still used today, based upon the “localization of drugs action”. This article provides an illustration of this.įrance has the honor of being the birthplace of two of the founding fathers of this approach, both of whom were members of our Academy of Sciences. A radical paradigm shift has occurred in recent years, with the gradual convergence of several disciplines that were previously considered entirely separate, such as physiology, pharmacology, molecular biology and cognitive sciences. What relationships are established between the chemistry of our brain and its higher functions, such as our decision-making capacity or conscious will? The answer to this question appeared unattainable only a few years ago and, some believe that it may ever remain beyond the reach of scientific analysis.

How does such a simple chemical substance have such a major effect on human behavior? This question is of even more general relevance. Tobacco contains a drug, nicotine, that creates a dependence almost as severe as that generated by cocaine or heroin. However, there is a formidable obstacle to the prevention of these deaths.

Every year, more than five million people worldwide die from the consequences of smoking, and these deaths, principally from lung cancer, are avoidable.