The microscopy studies of Román Alberca Lorente

F. Vera Sempere
Neurosciences and History 2023;11(1):1-21

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHOR

F. Vera Sempere
Emeritus professor. Department of Pathology, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.

ABSTRACT

The figure of Román Alberca Lorente (1903-1967) has received well-deserved social and scientific recognition in Spain, mainly due to his work as a neurologist and psychiatrist, which is certainly the best-known feature of his life.

However, knowledge of his microscopy research activity during his training is more limited and restricted. He initially conducted this research at the laboratory of the Residencia de Estudiantes, under the direction of Pío del Río-Hortega, and later at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, with Levaditi. His microscopy activity, which concluded in 1928, represents a solid scientific foundation on which Alberca’s neuropsychiatric activity is built.

This study, based on the analysis of different documentary sources, reviews in detail the microscopy work of Alberca. The original publications derived from this research were reviewed to assess the relevance of his contributions. The data obtained in this analysis are contextualised against the characteristics of the laboratories in which Alberca worked, as well as the known facts about his life.

Finally, the article addresses the circumstances surrounding Alberca’s scientific transition in 1928 from histopathological research to neuropsychiatric healthcare, commenting on the competitive examinations that Alberca sat. These data are analysed in the context of the Spanish Histological School and the institutionalisation of psychiatry in Spain over the course of the 1920s.

KEYWORDS

Román Alberca Lorente, Residencia de Estudiantes, Pío del Río-Hortega, Spanish Histological School, Institut Pasteur, Constantin Levaditi

Neurosciences and History 2023;11(1):1-21