Think Neuro

Hearing loss can have a profound impact on brain health. Studies have shown that when the brain is deprived of auditory input, it can lead to changes that may increase the risk of cognitive decline.

Courtney Voelker, MD, PhD is a Rhodes Scholar and board certified neurotologist. She is Director of the Adult & Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute. She is also an otolaryngology – head & neck surgeon who takes care of adult and pediatric patients seeing a wide range of inner ear and skull base conditions.

Dr. Melita Petrossian is a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders. When most people hear that term, they think of Parkinson’s disease. But Dr. Petrossian sees a number of patients with what’s known as essential tremor, a condition that’s often mistaken for Parkinson’s. It affects eight million Americans, far more than suffer from Parkinson’s. The brain has “tremor generators” that help us move. The tremor is natural, but the cerebellum smooths it out, like the steady cam features on our phones, so we don’t shake. Babies often jerk their limbs because the cerebellum hasn’t mastered the task. In cases of essential tremor, the cerebellum loses the ability to do that work. Listen to this episode to find out why the condition is called “essential” and how Dr. Petrossian helps alleviate the symptoms for people who have it.

Dr. Barbara Giesser is the Multiple Sclerosis Neurologist at the Pacific Brain Health Center. Dr. Giesser’s approach to the diagnosis and management of persons with MS combines state-of-the-art diagnostics and a personalized medication plan for each patient with an emphasis on integrating lifestyle and wellness strategies into the neurologic treatment plan.

For more information:
https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/barbara-giesser/ | (310) 582-7640

Jean-Philippe Langevin, MD, is a neurosurgeon specializing in the surgical treatment of movement disorders, epilepsy, and psychiatric conditions. Dr. Langevin is the Director of the Restorative Neurosurgery and Deep Brain Stimulation Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica and Torrance.

He is also Director of Neuro-Spine Surgery at the Spine Institute at Little Company of Mary, where he sees patients with a wide array of spine disorders including tumors, back pain, or other trauma.

With almost thirty years of experience in memory education, Dr. Karen Miller joined PNI in August 2022 as Senior Director, Brain Wellness & Lifestyle at the Pacific Brain Health Center.

The Lifestyle Program is an innovative mix of memory training, exercise and nutrition-based curricula focused on improving short-term memory, attention, and executive skills in older adults. Karen Miller, PhD, a leading national expert in the areas of memory and cognitive training heads up the program as the Senior Director, Brain Wellness & Lifestyle.

Learn more at https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/brain-health/lifestyle/#register

Claudia Wong is a family nurse practitioner specializing in memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. A few years ago, she trained to teach restorative yoga. After that, she went traveling, and the trip turned into a two-year journey into the contemplative arts. She did more yoga training in Bali, learned about healing with Tibetan singing bowls in India, and practiced meditation in Thailand. When she returned, she brought all those things back to use in her practice. Dementia and memory loss cause anxiety. Sufferers are often nervous about missing appointments and other events. That stress can compound their illness. A mindfulness practice like meditation or yoga can calm the aging brain and reduce the symptoms of memory loss, she finds. Listen to this episode to learn more about how Claudia’s journey to the East helps her get the most out of her practice in Western medicine.

Dr. Walavan Sivakumar is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a focus on skull base and minimally invasive and endoscopic neurosurgery.

Selected as a multiple year recipient of the SuperDoctor Rising Stars Edition, Dr. Sivakumar has a particular interest and expertise in brain tumors, skull base tumors, pituitary/parasellar tumors, and intraventricular brain tumors, and he applies the keyhole concept, utilizing advanced neuroimaging and microsurgical techniques to minimize collateral damage to the brain.

Dr. Sivakumar practices at PNI-South Bay located at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California. In addition, he treats patients at the Spine Institute at Little Company of Mary to help relieve and cure back conditions due to spine involvement.

You can read more about Dr. Sivakumar at the link below https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/walavan-sivakumar/

Shanthi Gowrinathan, MD, is an accomplished inpatient and outpatient psychiatrist, specializing in both Women’s Psychiatry and Psycho-oncology (Cancer Psychiatry) who works collaboratively in the care of her patients.

Dr. Gowrinathan integrates her recommendations with the patient’s medical teams to ensure a whole person, interdisciplinary and cohesive treatment approach.

Gifted with the strong ability to empathetically connect with her patients quickly, Dr. Gowrinathan is proficient at diagnosing and treating psychiatric disease in the context of complex medical issues such as cancer diagnosis.

Kirsty E. Bortnik, PhD, ABPP-CN, is a clinical neuropsychologist who focuses on adult and geriatric neuropsychological assessment. She has an extensive clinical background in the neuropsychology of various neurological conditions, with specialty training in epilepsy, movement disorders, and aging and dementia.

Dr. Bortnik is board-certified in clinical neuropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). She has authored several publications in the areas of language functioning and epilepsy, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, and performance validity in dementia and other neurological conditions. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the National Academy of Neuropsychology, the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, and the American Psychological Association.

In this episode of the High-Tech And Neuro Disorders (HAND) podcast from undergrad students at UCLA, hosts Jacob and Hugo interview world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Daniel Kelly, director and one of the founders of Pacific Neuroscience Institute. They run the gamut of topics from tips and tricks of being a doctor and neurosurgeon, to brain and pituitary surgery, to the expansion of PNI into the study of psychedelic-assisted clinical trials for many kinds of mental health and behavioral disorders.