Science and Medicine

Aristides Leão

Aristides Azevedo Pacheco Leão (August 3, 1914 – December 14, 1993) 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.

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• ▸Citation
• ▸Elliot Formation
• ▸2024 Gaza Strip polio outbreak

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