Michel Valentin Marcel Jouvet (16 November 1925 – 3 October 2017) was a French neuroscientist and medical researcher.

[3] In The Paradox of Sleep (MIT Press, 1999) Jouvet proposed the speculative theory that the purpose of dreaming is a kind of iterative neurological programming that works to preserve an individual's psychological heredity, the basis of personality.

[3] In 1959, Jouvet conducted several experiments on cats regarding muscle atonia (paralysis) during REM sleep.

Cats with lesions around the locus coeruleus have less restricted muscle movement during REM sleep, and show a variety of complex behaviours including motor patterns suggesting that they are dreaming of attack, defence and exploration.

[3] In June 2003, Jouvet was recognized at the 17th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).