Dear Colleagues, dear friends,
we would like to warmly welcome you once more to the bi-annual
3rd Psychiatric Surgery Summit (PSS2026)
The PSS is a working meeting bringing together experts in the field of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), ablative surgery and non-invasive stimulation technology in the psychiatric indications. We will again meet for two and a half days of intense and in depth discussion about this burgeoning field. Internationally renowned faculty from the fields of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neurophysiology, Engineering and more will give in depth overview on their work and there will be ample time for discussion.
PSS2026 is intended for Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, Neuroscientists, DBS staff and graduate students. It is a HYBRID-meeting for working and discussion. This meeting is held on a biannual basis. Registration will be performed on a first come first serve basis.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you in Freiburg in fall of 2026, on site or online, so make sure you mark the time in your calendars. SAVE THE DATE: 22-24 October 2026!
The meeting is endorsed by the ESSFN and WSSFN.
| Volker A. Coenen M.D. Neurosurgeon | Bastian E. A. Sajonz M.D., M.Sc. Neurosurgeon | J. Carlos Baldermann M.D. Psychiatrist |
Program
The program is currently in preparation and will be available soon.
We are pleased to already confirm outstanding keynote speakers: Prof. Hagai Bergman, Marwan Hariz, and Åsa Mackenzie.
Stay tuned—we look forward to sharing the full program with you shortly.
Satellite meeting - DBS in Depression Interest Group (DBS DIG)
13:00 | DBS DIG Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 | Meeting DBS DIG
Invited members DBS-DIG only
Satellite Meeting
16:00 | Board Meeting Center for DBS, Freiburg
Invited members CDBSF only
Main Program
Welcome
17:00 | Welcome - Prof. Dr. Wenz, CEO of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg
17:10 | Welcome - Prof. Dr. Lutz Hein, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine - University of Freiburg
17:20 | Welcome - Prof. Dr. Claus Normann, Co-Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Freiburg
Opening Remarks
17:30-18:00 | tba.
Keynote
18:00-19:00 | Keynote Lecture: DBS for Schizophrenia. A Delusion Or a Lucid Dream? | Hagai Bergmann, Israel
19:30 | Dinner
8:00-8:10 | Welcome
8:10-8:50 | Night sleep. A gateway for understanding the thalamus and its interactions with the basal ganglia and the cortex, H. Bergmann, Israel
8:50-9:30 | Poster price #1, tbd.
9:30-10:10 | Poster price #2, tbd.
10:10-10:30 | Poster Session & Coffee Break
Session:
10:30-11:10 | History of Stereotactic Neurosurgery in Germany 1950-1975, C. Moll, Hamburg
11:10-11:50 | The role of ablation in a DBS - Focus on psychiatric indications, L. Zrinzo, London
11:50-12:30 | Gamma-Knife radiosurgery for OCD and other psychiatric indications, J. Regis, Marseille
12:30-13:10 | HiFU capsulotomy in psychiatric indications, C. Hamani, Sunnybrook
13:10-14:15 | Poster Viewing & Lunch
Session:
14:15-14:55 | First results of the FORESEE III trial of DBS in TRD, J.C. Baldermann, Freiburg
14:55-15:35 | OCD work, M. Figee or K.S. Choi, New York
15:35-16:15 | amSTN DBS in OCD - update, S. Chabardes, Grenoble
16:15-17:00 | Poster Viewing & Coffee Break
17:00-17:40 | tba., Mayberg, New York
17:40-18:20 | Why surgery will continue to play a role in treatment of psychiatric disorders, P. Riva-Posse, Atlanta
18:20-19:00 | The relationship between neural connectivity and depression severity in a trial of DBS for severe treatment-resistant depression, A. Krystal, San Francisco
19:00-20:00 | Pre-Dinner Keynote: History of DBS; the untold story, M. Hariz (Umea, SE)
20:30 | Dinner
8:00-8:10 | Welcome
Session: Less frequent indications
8:10-8:50 | DBS for Tinnitus, Y. Temel, Masstricht
8:50-9:30 | DBS for Aggression, C. Torres, Madrid
9:30-10:10 | Optimal Deep Brain Stimulation Locations for Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome, A. Horn, Cologne
10:10-10:30 | Coffee Break & Poster Viewing
Session: Disruptive /new technologies
10:30-11:10 | Biomarkers of illness and treatment effectiveness in DBS for OCD and bipolar depression, N. Provenza, S. Sheth, Houston
11:10-11:50 | Characterization of the slMFB/VTA DBS target region applying cortical electrophysiological signatures, J. Pereira, Freiburg
11:50-12:30 | Advancing Psychiatric DBS into the future - Paris experience, Philippe Domenech, Paris
12:30-13:10 | Treatment-Resistant Depression at the Academic Interface: Multimodal Treatment Options and Their Underlying Mechanisms, C. Normann / S. Vestring / M. Veleanu, Freiburg
13:10-14:15 | Lunch & Poster Viewing
Session: Sensing/Electrophysiology
14:15 - 14:55 | Technological advances to modulate dysfunctional circuits in psychiatric disorders, A. Lozano, Toronto
14:55 - 15:35 | Treatment resistance in MDD? - Comparing apples and oranges, R. Mocking, Amsterdam
15:35 - 16:15 | Ethical aspects of Neuromodulation in psychiatric indications (rTMS, LFUS, VNS, DBS): only a question of invasiveness? L. Cabrera, Philadelphia
16:15-17:00 | Coffee Break & Poster Viewing
17:00-17:30 | Prefrontal Cortex connectivity in an evolutionary perspective - psychoptahological networks and DBS, V.A. Coenen, Freiburg
17:30-18:30 | "The Last lecture": The molecular differentiation of STN as a target for DBS in NP disorders?, Åsa Mackenzie, Lund Sweden
18:30-19:00 | Closing Remarks
19:00 | END of programme
20:00 | Faculty Dinner (invited speakers only)
Registration
Participation Fee
On-Site Participation - Early Bird Fee (until 31st July 2026)
Students - 60€
Residents - 75€
Physicians/Graduates - 600€
Physicians/graduates members (ESSFN, WSSFN) - 500€
Industry - 750€
On-Site Participation (after 31st July 2026)
Students - 60€
Residents - 150€
Physicias/Graduates - 700€
Physicians/graduates members (ESSFN, WSSFN) - 600€
Industry - 850€
The participation fee does not include dinner and accommodation.
Online Participation
Students - 30€
Residents - 75€
Physicias/Graduates - 250€
Physicians/graduates members (ESSFN, WSSFN) - 175€
Industry - 350€
Dinner
Thursday, 22 October - 55€
Friday 23 October - 55€
Sponsors
Main Sponsor
Contact
Scientific committee
Medical Center - University of Freiburg
Division of Interventional Biological Psychiatry
PD Dr. Juan Carlos Baldermann-Weiß
Hauptstraße 5
79104 Freiburg im Breisgau
Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
Prof. Dr. Volker Arnd Coenen
PD Dr. Bastian Sajonz
Breisacher Str. 64
79106 Freiburg im Breisgau
Congress Organizer
Medical Center University of Freiburg
Communication Department | Event Management
Mark Fröschle/ Elke Bührer
Breisacher Str. 153
79110 Freiburg
+49 761 270-19212
veranstaltung@uniklinik-freiburg.de





