Phineas Gage

From Psy3242

Phineas Gage An honest, well liked young man with nothing but promise and high hopes for the future, Phineas Gage was at work. While tampering down blasting powder for a dynamite spot, Gage sparked an explosion. The tamp, a one- inch thick metal rod, shot out of his hands and through his left cheek, crushing his bone and left eye as it traveled through his brain and out of his head. Amazingly, gage was able to stand and speak minutes after the injury. Fellow workers took him to get medical help, where he did nothing but ask the doctor how long he would be out of work. After two months, Gage was physically healed. He could walk, speak, and was aware of his surroundings, the part of Gage that did not survive the injury was his personality. Gage went from being a diligent, hard-working and trust worthy man to being a foulmouthed, ill-tempered liar.

Neurologists Hanna and Antonio Damasio did an autopsy on Gage’s skull using computer modeling and neural imaging techniques in order to see the possible pathway that the metal object took through Gage’s brain. The most likely path that the tamping rod took spared areas of the frontal lobe that are necessary for language and motor function. This was evidenced by his able to speak, walk, and live everyday life. The Damasios did feel that the area that was hurt by the injury was in the underbelly of the frontal lobe called the ventromedial region. This finding explains why Gage went from being outgoing to antisocial. In present studies, the same has been found. Whether the ventomedial region is hurt by a tumor, accident, or surgery the results seem to be a rise in anti social behavior.