Think Neuro

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...

ThinkNeuro Mini: What Are Meningiomas? with Dr. Nouhzan Sehati 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 inv...

When he got out of medical school Dr. Jian Guan wanted to do pediatric neurosurgery, and he found a top-flight residency at the University of Utah. While there, though, his career took a turn, thanks to the Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo. Cheyenne is a small city, and Salt Lake City is the nearest center of excellence for spine surgery, so every summer, Dr. Guan, sadly,...

Dr. Melita Petrossian is a fellowship-trained neurologist and movement disorders specialist and is the Director of the Pacific Movement Disorders Center located at Providence Saint John’s Health Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance. Dr. Petrossian’s clinical interests and expertise are in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, tremors including essential tr...

Naveed Wagle, MD, has specialized training and research experience in the treatment of cancer of the central and peripheral nervous system. Dr. Wagle treats patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors as well as neurologic complications of cancer at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. As an expert resource to Pacific Neuroscience Institute and the community, Dr. Wagle brings a wealth of k...

Cervical dystonia (sometimes called neck dystonia) is the abnormal position of the muscles of the neck, causing a twisted, turned, flexed or extended neck position. Abnormal signals coming from the deep parts of the brain cause this condition and therefore it is not muscular in nature and will not resolve with muscle massage or stretching. Join us in raising awareness to dystonia with Natalie Diaz...

Strange though it may seem, we can tone our brain tissue the same way we tone our muscles. The fitness of our gray matter depends on how well we take care of ourselves. If we exercise, manage our stress, get plenty of sleep, and eat right, our brain function improves. We add more, better brain tissue. Dr. Jennifer Bramen and Dr. Karen Miller work as a team at the Pacific Brain Health Center to hel...

Dr. Omid B. Mehdizadeh, MD, is an Otolaryngology, and Head & Neck (ENT) surgeon. Working with colleagues in the Pacific Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, his particular expertise is in voice, swallowing and throat conditions (laryngology).  Visit Dr. Mehdizadeh's profile: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/omid-mehdizadeh/ PacificNeuro.org 310-582-745...

Dr. Barkhoudarian is the Co-Director Pituitary Disorders Center, Neurosurgery; Director, Adult Hydrocephalus Center; Director, Facial Pain Center; Chief, Radiosurgery Program; Director, Saint Johns Cancer Institute / PNI Microdissection Anatomy Laboratory. He is a board-certified, fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a focus on skull base and minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. Dr. Barkhoudaria...

The network of vessels that transport blood to your brain looks like two trees. The trunks are the carotid arteries, which run up through the neck and branch into the brain, getting smaller and smaller as they ascend. Sometimes, those branches develop a dangerous malformation called an aneurysm. It happens when the artery wall weakens and begins to bulge. An aneurysm often looks like a berry hangi...

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...

Karina Sergi is a licensed therapist, trained the old-fashioned way, but she is exploring a new tool that has been proven to help people who are struggling with persistent depression, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder: magic mushrooms. PNI is studying psilocybin, the active ingredient in mushrooms, as a treatment for alcohol use disorder, and Karina is a facilitator for the trial. She...

Dr. Natalie Diaz is a board-certified neurologist with fellowship training in movement disorders. Her clinical practice focuses on the evaluation and management of patients with Parkinson’s disease, atypical parkinsonian disorders, Huntington’s disease and other choreiform disorders, dystonia, and ataxia. She also has specialized training in the evaluation and programming of deep brain stimulation...

Dr. Abbas Anwar, a native of Southern California, is a board certified otolaryngologist – head and neck surgeon, at the Pacific Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute. He specializes in all aspects of general and pediatric ENT and has special interests in sinonasal diseases and infections, head and neck surgery, otologic disorders, and throat complaints. He is well trained in...