LOOKING FOR CLUES: Neuropsychiatrist Gil Newburn is among a rare breed of scientists looking beyond “classic” neurology. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell
It’s frustrating but equally fascinating — when you work with the brain, you never get bored,” says neuropsychiatrist Gil Newburn.
He recently moved to Tairāwhiti to work with Mātai Medical Research Institute on new and exciting world-leading research projects.
He says his interest in the brain was a sudden discovery.
“I was born in Christchurch and my family shifted around the country a lot,” Dr Newburn said.
“I went to Otago University mainly because I had a major interest in hockey and they had a playing field.
“When I came out of med school I was on a journey to pursue orthopaedic surgery. During that time, sports injury was a new topic. I was interested in sports so I thought it would be a great fit.
“In the 1970s, I went to Palmerston North as a house surgeon and worked with psychiatrist Sir Mason Durie.”
At that time Sir Mason was director of psychiatry at Palmerston North Hospital.
“That’s when I suddenly discovered the brain at a time when there was a lot of research appearing on neurotransmitters.
“It fascinated me and so I stayed there, focusing on brain behaviour and relationships.”
He has been working with people who suffered brain injuries for a long time. His expertise is quite rare.
“I do all the things which neurologists don’t do with the brain.
“We are a very rare breed of scientists. This is a bit troubling given what we are learning about the brain with modern techniques.
“Classic neurology is when you only look at a particular region of the brain and how it impacts other areas of your being.
“We now recognise that the brain is made up of massive networks of loops which connect and function across the brain, and if you have an issue with any one of those loops, it becomes dysfunctional.
“We want to develop this theory into clinical practice, in order to expand our understanding of the brain.”
There was new research which showed people who suffered a mild brain injury had long-lasting symptoms well after the injury event, Dr Newburn said. Sometimes those symptoms were classified as mental illness, but this was not the case.
“Somewhere between 30 percent and
50 percent of people with mild brain injuries have enduring symptoms.
“This can be seen in one of the best research studies in that area — the BIONIC.”
He is referring to the Brain Injury Outcomes New Zealand in the Community (BIONIC) study by the AUT National Institute for Stroke and Applied Scientists. The population-based study into traumatic brain injury worked with a Waikato cohort.
Dr Newburn said there was a need for better ways for experts to look at the effects of brain injuries.
“Through modern pathology we know that any injury, whether it’s falling off a slide or having a car accident, causes secondary damage to the brain. Some may span many years, even decades — research is yet to be done in this area,” Dr Newburn said.
“When one suffers from brain injury the brain begins to change over time, causing issues in all aspects of life — social function, employment, education, behaviour etc.
“We also know, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) causes changes to the brain in a way in which genes are represented, switched on or off. This further causes damage to areas of the brain tied up with memory or stimuli response.
“Brain injuries do not have a simple recovery period because a lot of factors need to be taken into consideration.
“What becomes a conflict in this situation is finding more clues to say this is what is happening and here’s the cause for it. This is how we can improve or minimise risks for secondary brain damage. This is an important part of the research which is yet to be done.”
In Tairāwhiti, Dr Newburn has plans to work on some new world-first research projects with Mātai in a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary team.
“I know there is a good study done here on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We know about 70 percent of children who have ADHD in adolescence can carry that into adulthood. It is not something they grow out of.
“I am particularly interested in the research on brain injury and intimate partner violence.
“There is increasing research done on victims who have suffered a brain injury as a result of being assaulted. However, we have not yet looked at assailants, perpetrators of the assault.
“Some studies have shown 50 percent of men who assault their partners also suffer from brain injury. I think it would be good to understand their brains better to make changes to help them.
“I think by addressing the root cause of this form of violence we can make the community safer for everyone,
“This hasn’t been done internationally and maybe Tairāwhiti would be the place to host these world-leading projects, which is why I am excited to be here.”