Concussions

Patients with post-concussive syndrome often have a variety of different neurological, psychological, and physical symptoms. They may suffer from a variable degree of fatigue, insomnia, irritability, headaches, sensitivity to light or sound, dizziness while looking at moving object, hypersensitivity to sitting in a moving car, anxiety, depression, personality changes, apathy, or aggressive behavior.

The most important factor in helping these patients achieve a meaningful and rapid recovery is for them to receive integrated and coordinated care for ALL of their symptoms by a group of specialists who work together as a team. At NeurExpand Brain Center, we have assembled such a team and offer our patients a comprehensive set of testing and treatment interventions in one practice.

In addition to routine testing with MRI and neurocognitive evaluation, we also perform brain mapping EEG to examine the levels of abnormal brain wave activity in our patients. In majority of post-concussive cases, patients have normal imaging test results, but their brain mapping reveals the underlying abnormalities which account for many of their symptoms. Patients are relieved to know that their cognitive and behavioral changes, or sleep struggles are often due to abnormal brain wave activities and that these activities can frequently be corrected by a procedure called NeuroFeedback therapy.

Our Brain Fitness Program, guided by Dr. Fotuhi’s 25 years of research and clinical work at Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School, consists of a set of baseline evaluations followed by a series of therapeutic interventions, which are modified according to the specific needs of our patients. The treatment components include:

• Counseling and brain coaching, to address emotional issues such as fatigue, irritability, anxiety, depression, apathy, or changes in personality

• Cognitive Skills Training, to address issues such as memory loss, slowed speed of cognitive processing, attention deficit complaints, confusion, and difficulty handling numbers or large amount of information, with the goal of returning the patient to their baseline level of functioning at home and work

• Neurofeedback, to help address issues such as insomnia, anxiety, memory loss, difficulty with organization and planning, migraine symptoms, apathy, or irritability

Patients will work closely with an experienced neurologist who addresses their headache, dizziness, vertigo, gait imbalance, hypersensitivity to sound, light, or motion, pain, or other neurological issues. The director of our brain fitness program ensures that each patient receives the highest quality of care from all members of our multidisciplinary team and that he/she is making progress on a weekly basis.