Patient Resources
Curated reading, answers to common questions, and a clear picture of what to expect when you begin working with Dr. Pierson.
New Patients
What to expect at your initial consultation with Dr. Pierson.
01
You will receive a brief intake questionnaire by email after scheduling. Please complete it at least 24 hours before your appointment. Bring any prior neurological or psychiatric records, medication lists, and sleep study results if you have them - but do not delay scheduling if you don't.
02
Your first appointment is 90 minutes. Dr. Pierson will review your history, ask detailed questions about your symptoms, sleep, attention, mood, and life context, and conduct a focused neurological examination. This is a conversation, not a checklist.
03
At the end of the visit, Dr. Pierson will share his initial impressions and, where appropriate, a preliminary diagnosis. He will outline the questions he still wants to answer and what additional evaluation, if any, is needed.
04
A written treatment plan is provided after the initial consultation - typically within a few days. It outlines the diagnosis, the rationale for each recommended intervention, and the proposed timeline. You are encouraged to ask questions before agreeing to any part of it.
Common Questions
Education
Selected articles and resources on the conditions Dr. Pierson treats.
For decades, depression was explained primarily as a serotonin deficiency. The picture is considerably more complex - and more hopeful. This overview covers the current neurobiological understanding of depression, including the roles of neuroinflammation, neuroplasticity, and the default mode network.
ADD is not a deficit of attention - it is a problem of attention regulation. This piece explains the neurological basis of attentional disorders, why stimulant medications work when they do, and what non-pharmacological approaches have the strongest evidence base.
Total sleep time is only one dimension of sleep quality. Sleep architecture - the pattern of light sleep, deep sleep, and REM across the night - matters enormously for cognitive function, emotional regulation, and physical health. This article explains what healthy sleep architecture looks like and what disrupts it.
Wisdom is not simply accumulated knowledge. Research in cognitive neuroscience has begun to identify the neural correlates of wise reasoning - including the integration of emotion and cognition, the capacity for perspective-taking, and the regulation of uncertainty. This is an introduction to a rapidly growing field.
The brain is not a fixed structure. Throughout life, it retains the capacity to form new connections, reorganize existing ones, and recover function after disruption. This piece explains the mechanisms of neuroplasticity and what they mean for the treatment of depression, trauma, and cognitive decline.
The body's internal clock governs far more than sleep timing - it regulates mood, attention, metabolism, immune function, and the expression of thousands of genes. Disruption of circadian rhythms is now recognized as a significant factor in depression, ADD, and metabolic disease.
New patients are welcome. The first appointment is a comprehensive consultation - a conversation designed to understand you fully before any recommendations are made.