In this week’s episode, Brain & Life Podcast hosts Dr. Daniel Correa and Dr. Katy Peters discuss some of their favorite articles in the most recent edition of Brain & Life Magazine. They discuss how creativity can therapeutic, tips for making salon visits more accessible, ping-pong for Parkinson’s patients, and more. If you would like to read these articles, be sure to subscribe to Brain & Life Magazine for free!
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Brain & Life Articles Mentioned
- Healing Words: Writing about her traumatic brain injury helps this author make sense of her recovery
- Four Tips to Make Salon Visits Easier for People with Neurologic Conditions and Disabilities
- The Perks of Ping-Pong for People with Parkinson's
- When Is It Time to Stop Driving Because of a Neurologic Condition?
- An Artist Paints Her Migraine Aura to Help Communicate What Symptoms Feel Like
Other Brain & Life Podcast Episodes on These Topics
- Julia Easterlin on Being a Performer with Migraine
- Healing the Traumatized Brain with Dr. Sandeep Vaishnavi
- Colorful Healing: Artist Laura Bundesen's Vestibular Neuronitis Journey
- Mulling over Migraines with Photographer Bill Wadman
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- Hosts: Dr. Daniel Correa @NeuroDrCorrea; Dr. Katy Peters @KatyPetersMDPhD
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Episode Transcript
Dr. Correa:
From the American Academy of Neurology, I'm Dr. Daniel Correa.
Dr. Peters:
And I am Dr. Katy Peters, and this is the Brain & Life Podcast.
Dr. Correa:
Welcome back to the Brain & Life Podcast, and we're excited to have another episode where we're going to highlight some of the new things that have come out in the most recent Brain & Life Magazine. We've seen several different articles that got us interested, and we wanted to talk about them with you here.
Dr. Peters:
So Daniel, when you get your Brain & Life Magazine, do you like to look at the content? Do you look at it online? Do you look at it on Instagram or on X? Or you like the old paper version?
Dr. Correa:
I am excited by the paper version coming in the mail, because on that version, I get to see something that I don't often see online. I see the email that comes out with the different article highlights, and I'll often click on one or two that I'm interested in. Then there's the articles that we've been involved with as part of the editorial board. But when the print version comes in the mail, it's just like a different thing to have in your hands, and the first thing I flip to is actually the questions. At the beginning of each magazine, there's the whole section where listeners and readers have written in questions to the magazine, and I like to see their thoughts of the last issue and the questions that they have. It inspires me with ideas for the podcast, but also just thinking about how people are really absorbing the information that we're putting out there.
Dr. Peters:
I agree. I like the print edition too, and I know my mother also likes it. She recently received it, and has been enjoying reading it. I checked out the article about, there was a patient with traumatic brain injury, and she was using writing to sort of help her make sense of her recovery. It was a nice article, and we already know that for patients with brain trauma and brain injury that really the pathway to recovery can vary.
Dr. Correa:
I mean, completely. I saw that during my time in the military, helping with the Neuroscience Rehab Center in Georgia, and also taking care of and supporting TBI patients at Walter Reed. It's difficult because there's no set path for recovery from traumatic brain injury. The type of injury can vary so much, and even the type of injury and how someone is impacted or recovers varies so much from individual to individual and depending on people's family support and structure and what else was going on for them before they had their injury. So in each instance, the person feels like there's no clear guide or an example of another person to follow. It's a great thing that we're so unique, but at the same time, it can be frustrating when you have such uncertainty ahead of you.
Dr. Peters:
In this article, the patient's experience, she had memory loss and speech difficulty after her traumatic brain injury. It was really the prompting of her husband that said, "You need to sort of get back on the horse, maybe try an online writing class," and she was able to do this. And through this, and she was able to start writing again, and she feels that she's been able to find a better meaning for herself sort of after that traumatic brain injury.
Dr. Correa:
It makes me think back, thinking of again using writing for processing and exploring and understanding a medical condition. I remember the episode we did where we interviewed Greg O'Brien who has Alzheimer's disease, is a very experienced and awarded journalist, but wrote a book and has written on his own experience of the change of his memory and brain over time in a way as his last role as an embedded reporter in dementia. And so I think writing out your thoughts and then using that as a way to explore them and discuss them with other people really helps processing so many situations.
Dr. Peters:
Just like you touched on that our podcast has provided some information for our listeners, I want them to... If you can check out again the podcast with Dr. Sandy Vaishnavi. He was the neuropsychiatrist who's also an author, just like who was represented in this article, and his recent book called Healing the Traumatized Brain. We had a great discussion about brain trauma and what you can do to heal and promote brain health after that trauma.
Dr. Correa:
Yeah, I think that that was such an excellent episode, and it helps in having that discussion particularly from that background.
Now, Katy, there was another episode that really just talked about the practicality of day-to-day life and talking about tips for navigating your own self-care like salon visits when you have neurologic conditions and disabilities. We wanted to specifically highlight four tips that they mentioned. When you're looking at engaging with service individuals related to salons or other care services, who know when it's going to affect your head or your neck position. That, it challenges many people with different neurologic conditions, and so inquire at the different salons about their training and experience with people in those kinds of situations.
In the article, they highlight in New York City, here where I'm at there is a place called Barber's Blueprint that has worked with businesses and individuals with autism and sensory processing disorders to adjust the setting for their salon for those situations. Reach out to the salon and find out if you can book during a quieter time. They might be less crowded at different times, and that may help in managing sensory sensitivities or noise issues or just to help you have a... So many people would like to go to the salon even for the conversation, but if there's too much going on, you feel like you miss out on that experience. And so sometimes just being in a less crowded time can help expand and improve your experience at the salon.
And maybe bring a friend or a family member, someone who's familiar with your situation and challenge to be there in a way almost kind of like we can each bring friends and family members as advocates to other healthcare settings. In other service settings like this someone that can just maybe will voice things when you just don't have the energy to ask again about a position change when your hair is getting washed or considerations with balance issues and getting around, maybe aware of challenges where there's a carpet or a change in the floor pattern that might affect how you're walking with different medical conditions.
And lastly, the fourth one they mentioned was to be open. If you feel comfortable with it and exploring the setting, be open and clearly explain your abilities, disabilities, or special needs, and that can help the stylist and the other service providers really adapt and even learn from you, but also adapt to your needs.
Dr. Peters:
I think bringing in that friend is so important or bringing a loved one. Maybe that also prevent me from getting bangs because I don't know if I want that to happen, Daniel.
Dr. Correa:
Yeah, it is always good to get another opinion for all kinds of things, whether it's a new outfit or even a new haircut.
Dr. Peters:
And so I want to give a shout-out to one of my colleagues, Rosanna Vaccaria, who actually was interviewed for the article that accompanied this. She's actually my nail tech, and she did a great job talking to the magazine, but I remember having to deal with my mother with this. She actually developed Meniere's disease in her 50s. And you know what Meniere's disease is.
Dr. Correa:
I do, but I think we should mention it here for our listeners because it's one of those conditions that we haven't really touched on in the podcast yet.
Dr. Peters:
Yeah, I'll have to interview her, but it sort of involves vertigo, ringing in our ears, which is called tinnitus, and it can cause some hearing difficulties. It tends to occur between the ages of 40 and 60, and it can cause balance problems along with difficulties with changing position. It's thought to be due to some fluid accumulation in the ear, and it can be treated and it can be identified. But what my mom found is that when she laid her head back into the bowl to have her hair washed at the salon, it would just trigger this horrible vertigo. And so it took some time about how could she get her hair washed in the salon, and it was working with her stylist where they developed a technique where she actually went face forward instead of going face back. It actually triggered less vertigo for her, and she was able to get her new do, which was what she wanted. So shout out to my mom's stylist, Roger.
Dr. Correa:
Well, it highlights that much more the importance of having a discussion with all the people around us, whether it's your medical providers and service providers and stylists just about what matters most to you. Maybe you don't necessarily want to have your hair washed and you don't really care about it. My wife often likes a dry cut, and so just have a discussion about your expectations and what matters to you. But it's something often that doesn't even get necessarily explored as much with doctors, and what you're really looking forward to in your improvement and addressing your symptoms and your medical condition.
Dr. Peters:
So the next article that sort of stood out in the Brain & Life Magazine recently was really about using sports to help people with Parkinson's. And the title of the article were The Perks of Ping-Pong for People with Parkinson's. Wow.
Dr. Correa:
I love the alliteration there.
Dr. Peters:
A lot of alliteration. Now, before we talk about ping-pong, because it makes me think of course pickleball. So have you joined the pickleball craze, Daniel?
Dr. Correa:
My exposure to pickleball, it started during a visit to my in-laws in Florida. I was going there to watch my father-in-law play tennis. I don't play it. I just go and sit and hang out in the nice weather and watch, but then I hear the [inaudible 00:10:20], little the kind of sound of the pickleball and wandered over to go check out this court, and it looked like an interesting and fun game, a whole lot less of a barrier for entry to learning tennis and running around the full court. That smaller court is kind of fun. And so I've got a chance to play some down there, but I come back to Manhattan within a few weeks after that visit a few years ago, and all of a sudden, it just seemed like I see it all over Manhattan, on basketball courts now being converted or covered with the nets, some tennis courts, it seems in every neighborhood and all over Manhattan pretty much almost any season of the year I'm seeing people playing pickleball.
It's an interesting game because it's more accessible for a variety of mobility levels since it's a smaller court, doesn't really actually require you to be running from one side to the other full speed, and that makes it more manageable. So you can play across ages, and I'll tell you what, at least at my current level, the age and the mobility levels often don't really impact that much of how competitive it is in a challenge. I've definitely been slammed down by a 90-year-old down in my Florida visits and missed shots and drop shots from people of all ages. So it's a fun game. I've enjoyed it. I'm not necessarily doing it that often, but it's a fun thing to get it out into and experience. And it's funny, I actually find ping-pong harder than pickleball.
Dr. Peters:
Oh, my gosh. Well, we're going to have to find you a ping-pong coach.
Dr. Correa:
My wife is going to be upset if you're getting me another thing to be interested in learning and playing.
Dr. Peters:
So I learned to play pickleball actually from my nurse, Alicia's father. I mean, I think he's a 75-year-old ambassador/coach of Long Island for pickleball. And he came down to North Carolina. He taught our entire clinical team last year how to do it. And I mean, he is a spry 75-year-old. It was so much fun, and again, it reminded me of sort of a mashup between tennis and ping-pong. And we all know that exercise can benefit us, and we've seen articles now with dancing with Parkinson's disease, we've seen using karate or even boxing with Parkinson's disease, and now ping-pong. And it sort of reminds me that you're making those big movements that like Jori Fleisher told us about that can help our patients with Parkinson's. So I think it's really pointing to you that we need to keep moving and that there's so many different activities that are adaptable to a patient's skills, also what's out there and accessible to them. And, hey, I love playing ping-pong and pickleball.
Dr. Correa:
Yeah, and I'll remind our listeners, go back and check out, we've had several episodes on the podcast about living with Parkinson's disease, particularly talking about exercise and many other aspects about the medical condition. So if you're interested, check out of course the article about this fun experience, but also for more information about Parkinson's disease. We've covered at least three episodes that you can check out, and please let us know if there's other topics about Parkinson's or other movement disorders that you want to hear about.
Dr. Peters:
So Daniel, I know this is a discussion that we have to deal with, when is it time to stop driving because of a neurologic condition? And this was featured in Brain & Life Magazine, and I know that your epilepsy patients have to deal with this question. And so with your expertise, what's really your approach to your patients when this question comes about?
Dr. Correa:
Well, in terms of seizures and with epilepsy, we have one of the situations where there are actually state laws that help identify some of the periods of time that someone has to stop driving or can't drive because of seizure or their epilepsy. And so that helps in a little bit, but then the tough part is when that time is over, how you get back to it. So if you have had a seizure or you have a new onset seizure or you have epilepsy, it's important to get familiar with the state law and not necessarily where you're living. It depends on where your driver's license is.
We experienced this. When I was in the military, for some jobs, you might be in places temporarily, but have a driver's license from another state. So you follow the state of your driver's license. And so knowing in your state if you have a seizure or your seizures are uncontrolled because of uncontrolled epilepsy, whether or not you can't drive for a 6 or 12 month period or what are the specific requirements, you can find this very easily through a page and resources of the epilepsy foundation.
And then also local organizations and local chapters of the epilepsy foundation often have resources to help you with getting back and forth to medical care or helping identify options for getting around because that can be a huge limitation for someone whether you're in a city or in a rural area and being able to get to the things that you need to.
Then there's the challenge of, okay, you have maybe it's a 16-year-old has a history of seizures that are now controlled, but how you decide whether or not they can start driving or learning to drive, or an adult who had a single or one or two seizures and now they've stopped over 12 months ago, how you get back to that transition. And that's really a thing that gets to a discussion to together with your doctor, are you on medicines? Are you having any problems with your medicines? How consistently are you able to take your medicines, to really have a good sense as to how comfortable you and we feel that you're not likely having seizures that could put you in danger, because there's not just as much the concerns about your own danger, but then the other people in the car or around you in the community that may be injured.
And so those are all some of the challenges that we explore and it really is a one-to-one kind of situation. In many other medical conditions, we don't have as much guidelines, so it's much more getting a determination about in what ways your medical condition impacts possibly driving, and that's where physical therapists or occupational therapists can help. And then there's all kinds of interesting situations that are particularly challenging with different professions where you have to operate a vehicle, like a pilot, a truck driver, and other jobs. Those things, they each sometimes have their own specific regulations that we have to navigate together with our community members as their physicians and advocates.
Dr. Peters:
And I use the Epilepsy Foundation website for my patients when they come up with this question because our brain tumor patients, the most common neurologic manifestation they'll have that's going to limit their driving abilities is going to be having seizures. Now, some of them have focal neurologic deficits such as a visual field deficit. Maybe they have problems with their frontal lobe and control. So we do have an opportunity to test our patients with a driving exam. Now, we don't put them out in a car. It's more of an attention-based task that our neuropsychologists manage, but we have to know that the concerns are really some of our patients that are older, that are more predisposed to dementia, Parkinson's that their driving skills are going to be impaired. And there's an increase of motor vehicle fatalities among drivers that are age 65 or older.
I recently, with my colleagues in Melbourne, Australia, if you can believe it, of all places, we did a systematic review of motor vehicle accidents in our patients that have brain tumors, and it was increased. And so this is a question that's not just in the United States, but it's really across the world, and it's an international question. So I think we need to evaluate our patients appropriately, look for those signs of impairment for confusion, for decreased reflexes. And would that be associated with more likely having an accident that it could hurt themselves or also hurt others?
Dr. Correa:
Yeah, I mean, it's important to just recognize that there's not a set yes or no for a medical condition. It's much more about each person's ability and experience with it. So neurological conditions like dementia, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy, they may impair someone's skills, but that doesn't mean that you can't drive. It depends on how it's impacting you. Like we mentioned, there is some laws related to the timing after a single seizure, but mostly it's much more about determining with your doctors how you're impacted by the medical condition. Whether or not you can drive now, and then just because they say that at your current state that you can drive that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be reevaluated as things change over time with your medical condition, because we know, like everything in life, things change years to years as they move forward. And so it's important, and to think of in those initial discussions together with your doctor and with your family, how you're going to make that transition at some point and in the future if you're not able to drive on your own.
Dr. Peters:
And I think what this article also pointed out was you need to evaluate for some alternative transportation solutions. My mother-in-law, while she can actually drive her own car and she's doing quite well, she really likes to use the community volunteer programs that actually pick her up for certain events, particularly if they're in the evening and she doesn't want to drive at night. So check out rideshare services, community volunteer programs, and are there specialized transports for seniors with other types of health conditions? And you live in NYC, I live in North Carolina. There may be different types of transportation solutions. This is when you need to engage with of course your care providers, but maybe there's a social work or even the foundations like the Epilepsy Foundation might have resources.
Dr. Correa:
Yeah, I think those are all excellent places to go to. Of course, transitioning from driving to other alternate transportation is a challenge. It's important to use these other potential examples so that you can preserve as much independence and yours and your family's and the community's safety as things move forward. And it helps. I think having a part of it and engaging in the discussion and planning with your care partners and your family helps maintain some dignity for everyone.
Dr. Peters:
So Daniel, did you check out this one article about an artist who actually paints her own migraine aura to sort of communicate to others? Did you check that out?
Dr. Correa:
I did, and it made me think of... we've had several different times in the podcast where we've engaged with artists of various types, but particularly visual artists and musicians who've experienced either conditions like migraine or have interpreted part of their symptoms into a visual art like Lindsey Holcomb who transforms images of MRIs and aspects of her multiple sclerosis into visual art. I know you interviewed one of my friends with migraines.
Dr. Peters:
Yes, absolutely. I interviewed Bill Wadman. He is a photographer and artist. He is definitely a migraine sufferer, and he gave us lots of tips, but one of the things that he mentioned was that when he's in the focus time of doing his photography, he doesn't really experience his classical migraine. It's really the times in between. And so he really talks about how his own artwork or photography is a good mode of distraction for him, so he should keep busy. But then also gave some tips about sleep and also staying away from... I think that smells were a really big trigger for him too, the perfume counter.
Dr. Correa:
Yes, he has mentioned that. It sort of suggests that idea of sometimes these focus and flow states can be almost meditative for some people, and those meditative states sometimes can help with relaxation and some of the stress factors that build into various different medical conditions. One of the other artists that we interview, Laura Bundesen, has vertigo and migraines, and has helped use her art to process some of the challenges and symptoms that she had, much like Lindsey Holcomb does with some of her MS symptoms and helping other individuals in the community process their imaging and MRIs.
But on the other hand, you mentioned Bill has his focus state, and doing his art gives him reprieve. I remember that's not always the case. Our interview with Julia Easterlin, she really shared and opened her heart on how it's such a challenge performing her music and working with other musicians and artists because she has to adapt how she sings the kind of music that she plays, even the settings, the type of lighting when she's performing on stage, because all of those things are triggers for her migraine. So it actually even impacts her musical decision making. And so I imagine that the challenges of navigating something that you love, that when it's done in a certain way can help you and be a part of your fulfillment, but you're always riding that edge between too much light exposure to her eyes or the types of sounds that might trigger her pain and migraines. Sometimes the things we love can also be some of our greatest challenges.
Dr. Peters:
Well, Daniel, I think we definitely gave a great synopsis of all these articles. It just makes me more excited for really the next issue.
Dr. Correa:
I am really looking forward to the next one coming out, and particularly as I mentioned, thinking of our listener and our reader questions, what more do you want to see in the magazine and hear on the podcast? Who do you want to hear from? What medical conditions do you want to learn more about that you want to share even your own perspective? Reach out and please let us know what you want to know and what you're interested in.
Dr. Peters:
I can't wait again for the next edition, and I can't wait again for the next podcast.
Dr. Correa:
Well, thank you all for listening, and we'll look forward to hearing from you and your questions.
Thank you again for joining us today on the Brain & Life Podcast. Follow and subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss our weekly episodes. You can also sign up to receive the Brain & Life Magazine for free at brainandlife.org. Don't forget about Brain & Life in Espanol.
Dr. Peters:
Also, for each episode, you can find out how to connect with our team and our guests along with great resources in our show notes. We love it when we hear your ideas or questions. You can send these in an email to blpodcast@brainandlife.org, and leave us a message at 612-928-6206.
Dr. Correa:
You could also find that information in our show notes, and you can follow Katy and me and the Brain & Life Magazine on any of your preferred social media channels. We are your hosts, Dr. Daniel Correa, connecting with you from New York City and online @NeuroDrCorrea.
Dr. Peters:
And Dr. Katy Peters joining you from Durham, North Carolina, and online @KatyPetersMDPhD.
Dr. Correa:
Most importantly, thank you and all of our community members that trust us with their health and everyone living with neurologic conditions.
Dr. Peters:
We hope together we can take steps to better brain health and each thrive with our own abilities every day.
Dr. Correa:
Before you start the next episode, we would appreciate if you could give us five stars and leave a review. This helps others find the Brain & Life Podcast. See you next week.
