fruitsoftheweb:

awkwardax0l0tl:

The story of Phineas Gage is unarguably one of the most iconic in medical history; few introductory psychology and neurology textbooks do not mention him, and his case brought on 19th century discussion on the functions of certain areas of the brain. On September 13, 1848, Gage, a twenty-five year old railroad construction foreman in Vermont, was using a three foot iron rod to pack dynamite into the dirt; a spark ignited the dynamite, which had not been buried properly, and sent the rod through Gage’s cheek and out through the top of his head, severely damaging his frontal lobe. Remarkably, he was able to walk immediately after the accident, where his friends took the ever-conscious Gage home. He called on a doctor, quipping “Here is business enough for you.” The doctor did not initially believe Gage’s version of events, given how alert his patient seemed to be, until Gage vomited and a small amount of brain matter was expelled from his skull. Gage slipped in and out of consciousness and delirium for the next three weeks, at one point only semi-conscious; however, a month after his accident he was able to walk around his home and by February of the following year was working on his parents’ farm. As is commonly reported, Gage suffered a severe personality change; once affable, pleasant, polite and a teetotaler, he became rude, drank heavily, and could not be relied on. The railroad company he’d worked for refused to take him back, so changed was his personality. However, there is evidence that Gage was able to “relearn” proper social skills during his work as a stagecoach driver. His case is often used in neuroscience, neurology and psychology to illustrate the effect of damage to certain areas of the brain; for instance, as personality is a function of the frontal lobe, Gage’s personality shift can be accounted for due to the extreme damage he suffered as a result of the accident. He died nearly twelve years after his accident after a series of seizures, brought on by his injury.