Salvatore Galati

Salvatore Galati is a clinical neurologist who is an expert in movement disorders and a basic researcher. During his career at the University of Palermo through the University of Rome Tor Vergata and finally, at the Università della Svizzera Italiana, he has always dealt with both clinical and basic research projects concerning the pathophysiology of the basal ganglia. His academic training and research experience have provided him with an excellent background in medicine and neuroscience. As an undergraduate, he studied nitric oxide's effects on basal ganglia by performing electrophysiological recordings and micro-iontophoresis drug injection in both normal conditions and rodent models of movement disorders. He progressively discovered the basic research's translational meaning, further strengthening his interests as a physician and researcher. Combining his clinical interest in movement disorders and the basic research on basal ganglia, he worked on the neurophysiological characterization of the basal ganglia activity in Parkinsonian patients undergone deep brain stimulation surgery. In the meantime, he studied the cannabinoid alterations in the cerebrospinal fluid of Parkinsonian patients and the L-dopa-induced changes in dopamine metabolism in different stages of the disease. He has also participated in the clinical and electrophysiological identification of novel targets for deep brain stimulation, such as the pedunculopontine nucleus and the intralaminar thalamic nuclei.
He spent part of his training program as a fellow at the University of Toronto and a post-graduate research visit at University College London.
Research topics: 1) the effects of nigra-striatal pathway blockade on the coherence of cortex and basal ganglia; 2) the association between levodopa-induced dyskinesia and sleep; 3) pathological beta and gamma band oscillation in freely moving rats in parkinsonian state and during levodopa-induced dyskinesia.