institute, james was about to be the third person in america to have an experimental brain surgery that doctors hope could be the key to overcoming his substance abuse. i mean, i m getting holes drilled into my brain. it s scary reporter: why are you willing to do that because i don t want to die. so that s james brain. reporter: they mapped james brain to find the exact path to implant two wires carrying brain stimulating electrodes. so if you are off by a millimeter, you are in the wrong spot. reporter: a kind of brain pacemaker implanted in the chest sends electrical impulses to the reward center deep in the brain. the brain becomes sensitized this reward center of the brain, so you keep on wanting to experience that initial feeling to feel good from the dopamine high so our goal is to regulate that or normalize the dopamine imbalance in the brain. reporter: other signals are sent to the frontal lobe. where decision-making happens. that s right. exactly. re
it it was only at night that it really hit me i used to wake up weeping and then i slowly came to the realisation what it would mean for the future that i would have to give up many things. that ten years ago stephan was fitted with what s often called a brain pacemaker here in southern germany the procedure has helped him remain so active if it switched off his symptoms reappear. the brain pacemaker works by sending electrical impulses that block signals from particular parts of the brain deep brain stimulation is now being used to treat patients it earlier and earlier stages of the disease. it s been shown that the life quality of young patients with pacemakers in particular is significantly better than that of young patients who normally receive medication. ato clacked is also set to benefit from the technology in four weeks time he ll be fitted with
a brain pacemaker he hopes that it will make his life a lot easier. makes you one able to do anything anymore and you can t thank you can t even draw a line on a piece of paper it s so frustrating. in germany some eight hundred patients receive brain pacemakers every year and new age generations of implants are becoming increasingly sophisticated. but level of. currently we re trying to adapt the pacemaker to only send impulses when necessary rather than the whole time. you want to get these model should be ready in four or five years making the treatment of parkinson s symptoms even more effective in the future. because horton without the pacemaker i can t imagine what it would be like to leave the house or even get up and like two completely different people with and
to give up many things. but ten years ago stephan was fitted with what s often called a brain pacemaker here in southern germany the procedure has helped him remain so active if it switched off his symptoms reappear. the brain pacemaker works by sending electrical impulses that block signals from particular parts of the brain deep brain stimulation is now being used to treat patients that early and earliest stages of the disease. it s been shown that the life quality of young patients with pacemakers in particular is significantly better than that of young patients who normally receive medication. is also set to benefit from the technology in four weeks time he ll be fitted with a brain pacemaker he hopes that it will make his life a lot easier. makes you one able to do anything anymore and you can t