Cocaine in out | Luigi Gallimberti | TEDxPadova

In 2013, Professor Gallimberti was struck by an article reporting that an Italian researcher in the US had discovered that light stimulation on rat neurons could reactivate the cerebral cortex, a tissue that is virtually "switched off" in cocaine addicts. This type of experiment, however, would have been invasive and unauthorized for human use. The professor's winning idea was to stimulate the human cerebral cortex using magnetic waves, rather than light. By targeting a small, well-identified area below the left temple, the prefrontal cortex, "switched off" by cocaine, was reactivated in the human as well. Like the rat, the thought and craving for cocaine disappeared. Using a medical device called repetitive transcranial magnetic resonance imaging (rTMS), the patient, seated in a comfortable chair, is stimulated by a probe placed on the skull. The treatment successfully restores the brain to its original function, that is, the one it had before the cocaine addiction. Hundreds of patients have already been successfully treated, and the discovery was recently reported in Science and National Geographic. Luigi Gallimberti has dedicated much of his career to exploring the nature of the relationship between the brain and mind in the field of addiction. A psychiatrist, clinical toxicologist, and psychotherapist with a focus on psychoanalysis, he has worked intensively in both clinical and research settings. Always convinced that addiction stemmed from a brain and mental dysfunction, he sought to combine pharmacological therapy with psychotherapeutic treatment, believing that this would allow patients to achieve better results. To this end, with Professor Gianluigi Gessa, he discovered a new application for a drug, GHB, which proved the validity of his hypothesis. The true "revolution" occurred in recent years with another important discovery: the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of cocaine addiction. He developed this discovery based on the studies of Karl Deisserroth and Antonello Bonci, successfully replicating in humans what had already been scientifically tested in rats. From 2015 to 2018, Gallimberti's team treated over 500 cocaine-addicted patients. Their results attracted the attention of the scientific community, and in 2017, the team's work was featured on the covers of National Geographic Magazine and Science. Other research is currently being published in authoritative scientific journals, both neurobiological and psychoanalytic. By the end of 2018, together with Antonello Bonci, "La fabbrica della Luce" (The Factory of Light) will be published, a book that recounts and illustrates a fascinating discovery. In April 2018, leading experts in the use of rTMS in the field of addiction treatment from around the world will meet in Turin to discuss the latest experiences and future applications in this field. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx