Philosophy of Care

Cognitive changes often come with fear and uncertainty, both for the person experiencing them and for the people who love them. Choosing to be evaluated takes courage, and I respect the decision to take that step. My aim is to understand your symptoms in the context of your life, order the right testing, and arrive at an accurate diagnosis as quickly as possible. The neurobiology behind a given diagnosis may be the same across patients, but its impact depends on the individual, their relationships, and their circumstances. I work to understand both the condition and the person, and to build a treatment plan designed to be effective for you.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Mike Erkkinen is a neurologist who is primarily focused on caring for people with cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms. He has expertise in Alzheimer disease, including new disease-modifying therapies, and also frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body disease, and others. 

Research/Academic Interests

Dr. Erkkinen is a clinical neurologist with interests in Alzheimer disease, primary progressive aphasia, and frontotemporal dementia, whose practice is closely integrated with his scholarly and educational work. A central aim of his academic mission is bridging clinical neurology with cognitive and affective neuroscience, which he pursues through teaching trainees and community clinicians, mentoring fellows in behavioral neurology, and writing reviews and chapters on clinical neuroscience topics. His research has spanned functional neuroimaging of narrative language and improvisational creativity, a collaboration with the MIT Media Lab on auditory feedback interventions for stuttering, participation in Alzheimer disease clinical trials, and ongoing scholarship on healthcare delivery in neurology.