Editing Auguste Forel (section)

==Neuroscience==
Forel had a diverse and mixed career as a thinker on many subjects.

In Zurich he was inspired by the work of [[Bernhard von Gudden]] (1824-1886). In 1873 he moved to Germany to assist Gudden at his Munich Kreis-Irrenanstalt. He improved upon various techniques in neuro-anatomy including modifications to Gudden's microtome design.

In 1877 he described the nuclear and fibrillar organization of the [[Ventral tegmental area|tegmental region]] which is now known as ''Campus Foreli.''{{sfn|Parent|2003}} He then became a lecturer at the [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich|Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität]] in Munich while also continuing his research on ants.

===Neuron theory===
Forel realized from experiments that neurons were the basic elements of the nervous system. He found that the neuromuscular junction communicated by mere contact and did not require the anastomosis of fibres. This came to be called the ''Contact Theory of Forel''.

The word "neuron" was coined by [[Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz|Wilhelm von Waldeyer]] who published  a review of the work of Forel and others in 1891. Waldeyer synthesized ideas without actually conducting any research himself and published it in ''Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift'' a widely read journal which made him popular. Forel was very bitter about Waldeyer's achievement of fame that it is thought to have contributed to the decline in his interest in neuroanatomy and neurology.{{sfn|Parent|2003}}

Forel first described in 1877 the [[zona incerta]] area in the brain. He gave it this name as it a "region of which nothing certain can be said".{{sfn|Forel|1877}}

In 1879, he accepted an appointment as professor of psychiatry at [[University of Zurich]] Medical School. He was also assigned to the position of temporary director of the Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich asylum{{emdash}}the [[Burghölzli]] asylum, where he worked with only two other physicians treating 300 patients.{{sfn|Kuechenhoff|2008}}{{sfn|Banani|2005|page=4}} He remained there for nineteen years, publishing papers on [[insanity]], [[prison reform]], and [[morality|social morality]]. Burghölzli was very poorly run with corrupt staff and poor standards before Forel took over and converted to be among the best in Europe.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}