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Surgery for Emotions

11th Café Scientifique on April 5, 2017 on the question: Can, should, are we allowed to operate for depression?

Freiburg, Mar 28, 2017

Some forms of depression have no therapeutical alternatives. Doctors in Freiburg are currently conducting research on a new approach to treating the illness: deep brain stimulation. The method places electrodes in the patients’ brains to stimulate certain areas of the brain with slight electrical impulses. Prof. Dr. Volker Coenen, neurosurgeon and researcher in the excellence cluster BrainLinks-BrainTools at the University of Freiburg, will introduce previous findings from this type of therapy that have already been used successfully for Parkinson’s disease. Prof. Dr. Thomas Schläpfer, psychiatrist at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg will explain what depression is and which options are available for people who suffer from it. Together with the Freiburg private lecturer and philosopher Dr. Oliver Müller and the audience, the researchers will discuss the possibilities and limitations of this neurotechnology.