Think Neuro

David A. Merrill, MD, PhD, is an adult and geriatric psychiatrist with double-board certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is director of the Pacific Brain Health Center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Merrill has worked for several decades with patients suffering the behavioral health sequelae of age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disea...

Your brain is an energy hog. It accounts for just one percent of your body weight, but it consumes about 20 percent of your total energy. The blood carries oxygen and 20 percent of blood flow goes to the brain, because all that work requires oxygen. Large arteries are constantly rushing blood to your brain, where it filters into smaller and smaller vessels. All that pressure can cause problems. If...

Dr. Heinzerling is the Director, Pacific Treatment & Research In Psychedelics Program; Internal Medicine – Addiction Medicine, Brain Health Center. He practices internal medicine and is an addiction medicine specialist at the Pacific Brain Health Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute. His research and clinical focuses are on the discovery, development, and dissemination of anti-addiction medicati...

Dr. Daniel Kelly, a board certified neurosurgeon, is Director of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute and Professor of Neurosurgery at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Considered to be one of the best neurosurgeons in the US and multiple recipients of the Patients' Choice Award, Dr. Kelly is internationally recognized in the field of minimally invasive keyhole surgery for brain, pituitary, and skull...

Neurosurgeon Dr. Daniel Kelly had lots of interests in college, ranging from neuroscience to marine biology. He jokes that he went to medical school to delay making a decision. But, once there, his future became clear. Learn how he found his way down a rigorous path and became one of the top brain surgeons in the world -- founding Pacific Neuroscience Institute and staying humble all the way.

When people think about multiple sclerosis, they don’t often think about the eye, but vision problems are often the first signs of MS. The disease is caused by an aberrant immune response that attacks the central nervous system, which includes the brain, the spinal cord, and the optic nerve. And the optic nerve is where MS often reveals itself. Dr. Barbara Giesser specializes in the treatment of M...

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...

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. To learn more about Dr. Putman and his expertise, visit: http...

Barbara S. Giesser, MD, FAAN, FANA, is an internationally recognized clinician and award-winning educator who has specialized in the care of persons with Multiple Sclerosis since 1982. Her approach to the diagnosis and management of persons with MS combines advanced diagnostics and a personalized medication plan for each patient with an emphasis on integrating lifestyle and wellness strategies int...

There are few cancers more challenging than glioblastomas. While there is currently no cure for these brain tumors, patients and their caregivers can take steps to maximize their quality of life once they learn their diagnosis. Dr. Akanksha Sharma and TV meteorologist and author Maria Quiban Whitesell both know a lot about doing just that. Dr. Sharma is a neuro-oncologist at PNI, where she treats...

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...

Did you know that 40% of our brain is involved with vision? Learn about how Pacific Neuro treats visual problems relating to the brain and nervous system with Dr. Howard R. Krauss, Surgical Neuro-Ophthalmologist and Director of the Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center at PNI. For more information please visit: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/

If you’ve never had a migraine headache, you are lucky. Sufferers say the pain alone is wretched, and there are a host of other awful symptoms. A migraine can garble a person’s speech, paralyze parts of the body, cause the sensation of a room spinning, and make any motion feel like moving through molasses. Dr. Dorothy Dada, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Medical Center, a hospital partne...

Facial paralysis is devastating to one’s identity. Patients with facial paralysis experience physical, social, and emotional changes. Facial synkinesis refers to abnormal regrowth of facial nerve fibers, which may result in involuntary (unwanted) contraction of certain muscles during other intended facial movements. At PNI, our specialists treat all types of facial paralysis and related conditions...

Dr. Melita Petrossian, neurologist, and director at Pacific Movement Disorders Center talks about brain neuroplasticity as it relates to Parkinson's disease. For more information or a consultation. Visit pacificmovement.org or contact us at 310-582-7433.

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...

You're probably hearing a lot more about the "human microbiome" these days. It's the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that lives alongside us, inside and out. Some of these organisms are beneficial, and some are harmful. There is growing evidence that bad actors in our digestive tract may produce toxins that travel along the vagus nerve to the brain, where they clump and cause Parkinson'...

When Dr. Daniel Kelly and his three colleagues founded the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in 2015, they knew it would be much more than a medical practice. It would be an institute in the true sense of the word, with a mission to heal patients, do research, and educate new doctors. Dr. Kelly and his team didn’t let up on that three-pronged mission during the pandemic. To the contrary, they doubled...

Experienced neurosurgeon Dr. Neil A. Martin talks about Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) in the brain and how they are treated. pacificneuro.org 310-582-7450

Dr. Amit Kochhar talks about the treatment of Facial Paralysis. Facial paralysis is devastating to one’s identity. Patients with facial paralysis experience physical, social, and emotional changes. At PNI, our specialists treat all types of facial paralysis and related conditions. Every face is unique and our team takes a compassionate, patient-centric approach to designing a unique facial paralys...

What is Bell's Palsy? Dr. Amit Kochhar talks about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Bell's Palsy. Bell’s palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. The facial nerves control muscle activity so when damaged it can cause the face to droop. Fortunately, for the majority of patients, normal to near-normal facial nerve function can be restored within 1-2 months with m...

The Covid-19 virus is a shape-shifter. Two years into the pandemic, we’re still learning about the damage it can cause. One thing for sure: It causes more strokes, says Dr. Garni Barkhoudarian, a neurosurgeon at PNI. The virus invades the blood vessels and pushes certain cells into a “hypercoagulable state,” meaning that they gum up our arteries. Patients that are already prone to strokes are at t...