Think Neuro

Dr. Sehati is a board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes the treatment of a wide variety of brain, spine and spinal cord disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute. His expertise is in surgical and nonsurgical management of degenerative, traumatic and neoplastic (tumor) diseases of the brain and spine with a focus on minimally invasive techniques. His practice is based primarily at Providence...

Meet Dr. Christopher M. Putman, a board-certified interventional neuroradiologist with over 20 years of experience. He treats a variety of complex intracranial, head and neck, and spine vascular conditions including acute stroke, cervical and intracranial stenosis, vascular malformations, cerebral aneurysm, and venous occlusive diseases.

Dr. Nouzhan Sehati is a board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes in the treatment of brain, spine, and spinal cord disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute with a focus on minimally invasive techniques. Dr. Sehati emphasizes the importance of clinical excellence and comprehensive care for his patients. In this video, Dr. Sehati shares a patient story that reaffirmed his passion for his work...

The Pacific Brain Tumor Center and Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center offers a 1-year neurosurgery fellowship in minimally invasive surgery for brain, pituitary and skull base tumors. Our clinical training program is focused on endoscopic endonasal and keyhole surgical approaches, neuro-endoscopy, pituitary tumor management and multimodality neuro-oncology treatments. The fellowship emphasizes ope...

Dr. Amit Kochhar is an otolaryngologist. That means he specializes in surgery in the head and neck. Among the conditions that he treats is something called synkinesis: unintentional contractions of the face muscles. A patient’s eye may close when smiling. The corner of their mouth might pull when they blink. There are many causes, including onset due to Bell’s palsy and Lyme disease. Most cases re...

Jean-Philippe Langevin, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a special interest in the surgical treatment of complex spine conditions and movement disorders. Selected as a multiple year recipient of the SuperDoctor Rising Stars Edition, he has extensive experience using advanced surgical techniques to treat his patients with compassion and care. He practices at PNI-Sou...

Akanksha Sharma, MD, is board certified in neurology, neuro-oncology and palliative medicine. She is experienced in and provides unique perspective on the treatment of primary/metastatic brain tumors, neurological complications of cancer, and disease-related burden and symptoms. Her clinical and research interests lie in helping patients maximize their time and quality of life. She aims to align t...

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 otol...

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...

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.pacifi...

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, w...

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 le...

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 meditati...

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 co...

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 ab...

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...

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 stu...

Dr. Porter is the Director of Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Neurocognitive Disorders at the Pacific Brain Health Center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) located at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. In addition, she is a Professor of Neurosciences, Department of Translational Neurosciences and Neurotherapeutics at John Wayne Cancer Institute. https://www.pacific...

Think Neuro Mini: Meet Dr. Scott Kaiser Dr. Scott Kaiser, a board-certified family physician, and geriatrician is the Director of Geriatric Cognitive Health and provides specialty geriatric medical consultations at the Pacific Brain Health Center. Focused on the needs of older patients, he works with his colleagues to provide an integrated and holistic approach to their cognitive challenges. With...

Evan Walgama, MD is a board-certified Otolaryngologist – Head & Neck / ENT Surgeon at the Pacific Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica. His particular area of expertise is in the treatment of patients with benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck. Dr. Walgama is a dual-fellowship trained surgeon. He completed his Sinus and Skull Base fellowship at St...

Though cochlear implants are incredibly useful in improving patients hearing, there are still many misconceptions and myths that surround them. For example, it's a common misconception that deafness is a requirement for cochlear implant eligibility. Another myth is that the implant requires intensive and invasive surgery. Dr. Rebecca Lewis tackles a few of the most common myths and sheds light on...

The cochlear implant is an electronic device that is implanted into the inner ear (the cochlea) to restore hearing in patients for whom hearing aids are no longer effective or for those with hearing loss in just one ear. There is strong evidence supporting improvements in cognition and dementia prevention when hearing loss is treated with appropriate intervention (hearing aids or cochlear implants...

“Voice box” might be the most misleading term in all of human anatomy. It makes a very complex organ sound terribly simple. In truth, the voice box is a set of paired muscles no thicker than a fingernail that do double duty. The delicate muscles produce sound, and they close on cue to protect our lungs as we swallow. ‘It’s one of the most intricate and beautiful structures in the human body,” says...

Dr. Amit Kochhar, MD, is double board-certified in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is the director of the Facial Nerve Disorders Program at Pacific Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Dr. Kochhar specializes in facial nerve disorders, complex reconstruction of th...

At the Pacific Brain Health Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, CA, patients consult with one of our highly-trained neuropsychology experts. Our team conducts adult and geriatric neuropsychological assessments. In addition, our specialists care for patients with neurobehavioral health symptoms related to various neurological illnesses, or age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Conditions inc...