The topic of Know Your Better Self: Mood, Music, and Play, hosted by Dr. Jennifer Pallone, features Dr. Elizabeth Kera, discussing cognitive skills and how to improve memory, mood, and your processing skills. Dr. Kera will have an actual session with Dr. Pallone to demonstrate exercises that can help improve cognition.
Brian Harris will demonstrate how the brain responds to music to improve PD symptoms affecting movement, language, attention, and memory.
Nenad Bach took up table tennis to improve his condition and regain the ability to play musical instruments. He is the founder of pingpongparkinson.com
Dr. Elizabeth Kera practices neuropsychology in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Institute of Hackensack University Medical Center. She is board-certified in Clinical Neuropsychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Dr. Kera obtained her BA in Psychology as an Honors Scholar at New York University in 2000. In 2006, she completed her PhD in neuropsychology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. She completed her internship in neuropsychology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at Children’s Specialized Hospital of New Jersey. Dr. Kera has co-authored numerous publications and presented on a variety of topics in neuropsychology and is active in several neuropsychological organizations. She specializes in the neuropsychological assessment of both pediatric and adult populations, focusing on conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, concussion, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and stroke. Combining her extensive expertise in neuropsychology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, Dr. Kera partners with patients, their families, and other healthcare professionals to provide a comprehensive assessment of cognitive functioning, and to develop appropriate treatment and rehabilitation recommendations.
Dr. Jennifer Pallone is a board-certified neurologist with 25 years of experience. Currently practicing with Nuvance Health’s Movement Disorders Center in Poughkeepsie New York at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Dr. Pallone provides subspecialty neurological care to patients with disorders such as Essential Tremor, Dystonia, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, and Tourette’s Syndrome.
Dr. Pallone’s practice experience includes many years as director of The Aging Brain and Movement Disorders Clinic in northwest Indiana at The Neurological Institute and Specialty Centers followed by practice with Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group in the Neurodegenerative Diseases Center/Movement Disorders Section.
Brian Harris completed his undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Maine and went on to receive his masters in Music Therapy, becoming a Board-Certified Music Therapist with specialized training in Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). He later received advanced training in the field, becoming one of only 350 people in the world with the distinction of NMT Fellow. Harris was hired as the first NMT at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, where, in 2015, he founded the clinical division of MedRhythms focusing on stroke, brain injury, and neurologic disease. With his continued leadership, the therapy practice has grown into the most comprehensive NMT program in the country.
The debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease left Global Composer & Peace Activist Nenad Bach unable to play music and perform in public. He sought to find a way to combat the disease when a friend invited him to play ping pong at Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville, NY. Bach felt better after his first session. He started to play once a week, then three times a week. After 6 months, he was playing guitar again.
Reinvigorated by his success, Bach started the Ping Pong Parkinson Program. “The idea behind these Championships is to help as many people around the world as possible to continue living with Parkinson’s Disease and to be happy, productive members of society. We are also engaging the scientific community to look deeper into the health benefits of table tennis.”
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