Dr. Laura Lenkey and patient.
Neuro-Plasticity
Fresh Hope
for Brain Health
Neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, synaptogensuffered brain damage. She came to Lenkey’s esis … each of these words relates to the idea practice nearly a decade later able to make The core of Lenkey’s practice that the normal human brain can adapt, grow only one sound, a high-pitched wheeze upon involves treating people with inhalation. After hours and hours of therapy, new cells and form new synaptic connections brain trauma and disease, but she throughout life. It’s a hopeful message to share, Abby D. can now formulate sentences of four says everyday people who are says Dr. Laura Lenkey, of Abby D. Center, a cogwords, order food in restaurants and is able not suffering those ailments can to display her sense of humor. “She’s amaznitive health and neuro recovery practice with learn about brain health from the ing,” Lenkey says. offices in Petoskey and Williamsburg, because for successes of patients Lenkey sees a growing need for her serso long people were told that the brain’s capacin rehabilitation. vice as the general population ages and Baby ity is fixed at birth and declines throughout life. Boomers start to focus on keeping mentally sharp as they grow older. The core of Lenkey’s practice involves treating people with brain “We can take a mental baseline for a patient,” Lenkey says. In this sittrauma and disease, but she says everyday people who are not sufuation, a patient would come in, take a test and then be able to check fering those ailments can learn about brain health from the successes future performance on similar tests against that baseline as they age. of patients in rehabilitation. Lenkey also sees good signs in a widening If they spot a problem area, like, say, word recall, Lenkey and her team awareness of the potential of the brain to heal and move forward. “I think the war has had something to do with this,” she says. “There has been can suggest brain exercises and services that would help improve perso much written about soldiers with brain injury, and I think it has carformance. ried over into a greater awareness about brain health.” Lenkey’s favorite example, and the person after whom she named 231.348.7777 her practice, is Abby D. As an 11-year-old, she was hit by a car and abbydcenter.wordpress.com
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