Briz Brain & Spine

05/04/2026

Patient Notice – Road Access Changes (8–9 April).

If you have an appointment on 8 or 9 April, please allow a little extra travel time to reach our practice. Due to Energex works, Thompson St (between Edmondstone Rd and Murray St) will be closed to all traffic. Access to our car park remains available via Abbotsford Rd or the northern end of Thompson St (see attached image). Traffic controllers will be on-site to assist if required.

We thank you for your patience.

31/03/2026

We will be closed from 3 - 6 April for the Easter weekend, reopening at 8:30 am on Tuesday, 7 April. We hope you, your families and friends have a lovely and safe Easter break.

24/03/2026

Inside the Brain & Spine – have you ever thought about how the brain keeps you balanced? Staying upright isn’t as simple as it feels. Your brain is constantly combining input from the inner ear (movement and position), your eyes (where you are in space), and your muscles and joints (body position). It then predicts what should happen next – and makes instant corrections if something doesn’t feel quite right. All in milliseconds without you even thinking about it. Balance isn’t just a reflex… its real-time brain power keeping you steady!

17/03/2026

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from harmful substances in the bloodstream. But this defence system also blocks many medications, making brain tumours particularly difficult to treat.

New research suggests laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) may temporarily open the BBB, allowing drugs to reach the brain more effectively. In a small early-stage clinical trial, patients with recurrent astrocytoma treated with LITT followed by the immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab lived longer than those treated without LITT. Around one-third of participants survived for more than three years, compared with the typical life expectancy of four to five months.

More research is needed, but the findings suggest a promising step toward more effective treatments for aggressive brain cancers.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69522-w?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=8dace49436-nature-briefing-cancer-20260312&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-563eebe4ce-49369024

10/03/2026

Inside the Brain & Spine – what if the world you see isn’t exactly what’s there? It might feel as though your eyes capture the world like a camera taking a photo. But vision is far more complex than that.

Your brain uses a process called predictive coding. Rather than recording every detail, it gathers small pieces of information from your eyes and combines them with memories and past experiences to build a picture of the world. Research shows that what you’ve just seen can subtly influence what you see next. Your brain briefly holds onto recent visual information and blends it with new input, helping it interpret the world faster and more efficiently.

In other words, the world you experience isn’t simply recorded by your brain — it’s constructed by it!

03/03/2026

Our first newsletter for 2026 is now available. Get to know the brain, learn about a rare syndrome and read about a new appointment for Dr Alexander.

24/02/2026

At any moment, your body is running a whole suite of biological processes just to keep you alive. From energy production to cellular repair, your body is the ultimate multitasker. So your brain must be great at multitasking too, right? Not quite.

Research shows the human brain simply isn’t built to perform two tasks at the same time — it’s wired to focus on one thing, finish it and then move on. So when you’re writing an email, listening to music and answering the kids all at once, your brain is actually rapidly “task switching,” not multitasking. And that switching burns far more time and energy than doing one thing at a time.

Turns out the brain prefers single‑file traffic — even if the rest of your life doesn’t!

17/02/2026

Neurosurgeon Dr Hamish Alexander has been appointed Associate Professor at the University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine, recognising his sustained, high-level contributions to medical education, research and professional leadership. Alongside his clinical work at Briz Brain & Spine and in the public health system, Dr Alexander has dedicated many years to teaching medical students and advancing clinical research. We warmly congratulate Associate Professor Alexander on this outstanding achievement.

10/02/2026

Inside the Brain & Spine – You’re at the airport. It’s loud: conversations overlap, baggage carousels beep, kids behind you argue. Yet somehow, you still catch the announcement for your boarding gate. How? Your brain uses a sophisticated process called sensory gating to filter incoming information. It prioritises important sounds - like speech - while dampening background noise such as distant traffic. Emotions play a powerful role too. Stress and anxiety can disrupt this filtering system, amplifying background noise and making it feel almost impossible to ignore. So, next time the world feels unbearably loud, it might not be the noise that’s changed — but how your brain is processing it!

04/02/2026

Scientists have made promising progress in spinal cord injury research. New research from the University of Louisville in the US, has shown that children with complete spinal cord injuries were able to regain voluntary stepping movements after non-invasive spinal stimulation combined with specialised training. Families also reported additional benefits including improved balance, sensation and bladder control. While this isn’t a cure, it highlights the spinal cord’s remarkable ability to be re-activated — even years after injury. Read more here:

Lucas et al. have explored whether non-invasive surface spinal stimulation with training can help paralyzed children with chronic complete spinal cord inju

27/01/2026

Inside the Brain & Spine – most people will have burnt their hand at some point or another. It may have just been for a split-second but it hurts! That lightning-fast, pull your hand back, happens without thought. That action is called a reflex arc – a rapid, involuntary reaction to a stimulus that is mediated by the spinal cord. The brain receives the signal a little bit later and that is when the pain really kicks in. The key functions of the reflex are to keep you protected from injury and maintain internal homeostatic balance.

20/01/2026

Research from the University of California suggests that in multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic inflammation and damage to nerve insulation affect the Purkinjie cells which are neurons that help control balance and movement. The affected cells don’t produce enough energy to work properly which may help explain why movement problems can slowly worsen over time for some people with MS. Encouragingly, this research points toward future treatments aimed at protecting these brain cells and their energy supply, which could help slow or prevent mobility problems.

Many people with multiple sclerosis struggle with balance and coordination, and this study uncovers a hidden reason why. Researchers found that inflammation in the brain disrupts the energy supply of vital movement-controlling neurons. As their mitochondria fail, these cells weaken and eventually di...