Constantine Moschonas, M.D.

Constantine Moschonas, M.D.
Specialty: Neurology

Years practicing: 17
Medical school: Rutgers University

What’s the most interesting case you’ve seen in your career?
I’ve had a lot of interesting cases, but probably the most unique and unusual case is a lady that’s here in Phoenix who had a severe viral infection when she was abroad. She came to see me very early on in my career and said she was having difficulty thinking. I did a SPECT scan that showed an area of decreased blood flow in the brain. She asked if she could do something on her own, and she worked hard on her brain and exercised. Several years later that part of her brain had completely cleared.

Did you want to be a doctor growing up?
I did. I wanted to be doctor before I could walk. When I was in elementary school, I was asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor. That thought never left my mind. I think what happens in medicine is really a God-given calling. There’s a certain number who are truly called and have an absolute passion.

If you could have anyone’s brain, whose would it be?
The person’s I would love to have was a Greco-Roman physician who lived in the 1st century: Saint Panteleimon. He came from a very royal family with wealthy parents and was taught by the same group that came out of the Hippocratic School. The difference with him was he was an extremely bright student. Because he was Christian, he was very holy and had the ability to help patients spiritually and physically.

Neurologically speaking, what are the differences between men’s and women’s brains?
Some very interesting research has been done to look at how the brain develops in teenagers, men and women. Most decision-making is controlled by the most front part of the brain. That part does not become completely functional in men until age 29 and in women age 24. That’s why men make bad decisions in their early twenties.