Aristides Leão
Aristides Leão | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 3, 1914 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Died | December 14, 1993 (aged 79) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Resting place | Rio de Janeiro |
| Alma mater | FMUSP (graduation) Harvard University (M.A., 1942 - PhD, 1943) |
| Known for | Discovery of cortical spreading depression |
| Spouse | Elisabeth Raja Gabaglia Leão aka Elisabeth Pacheco Leão |
| Relatives | Candido Portinari (brother-in-law) |
| Awards | Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (1994) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neurophysiology |
| Institutions | Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho |
| Thesis | Spreading depression of activity in the cerebral cortex (1944) |
| Doctoral advisor | Arturo Rosenblueth Hallowell Davis |
Aristides Azevedo Pacheco Leão (August 3, 1914, in Rio de Janeiro – December 14, 1993, in São Paulo) was a Brazilian neurophysiologist, researcher and university professor.
Leão discovered and described the spreading depression, which also became known as "the Leão wave". This depression is a reaction in the cerebral cortex that can be induced by touch or electric shock, although, more significantly, it occurs spontaneously in migraine and to some extent in epilepsy. It occurs not only in the brain, but in other neural structures.
Leão was president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences between 1967 and 1981 and defended scientists persecuted by the military dictatorship. He created scientific journals and built important scientific collaborations between the academy and other scientific bodies. Elected president emeritus of the institution, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit. The academy's library now bears his name.