Wishing to honor women neuroscientists, the Governing Council of the French Neuroscience Society has decided to change the name of the Paul Broca Lecture to the Angelique Arvanitaki Lecture.

Angélique Arvanitaki was a neurophysiologist of Greek origin, born in Cairo in 1901 and who died in Marseille in 1983, renowned for her pioneering work in electrophysiology. She emigrated to Lyon for her studies, where she obtained her PhD in 1938 and spent most of her career in France.

Angélique Arvanitaki was a pioneer in the investigation of electrical nerve activity through her studies of neurons in terrestrial and marine molluscs such as aplysia, and notably discovered and named the principle of ephaptic coupling. She also explored the photoexcitability of certain neurons.

In 1960’s, she participated in founding the Neurophysiology and Psychophysiology Institute in Marseille, where she headed the Department of Cellular Neurophysiology.

Angélique Arvanitaki brilliantly carried the colors of French neuroscience from the 1930s to the 1960s.

The first Angelique Arvanitaki Lecture will be given at NeuroFrance 2025 in Montpellier.