Phineas Gage

 

1. Who was Phineas Gage?

Phineas Gage was an American foreman in a railroad construction. He is mostly remembered for surviving an accident in which an iron rod was penetrated through his head.

2. Describe the event which caused his injury.

On September 13, 1848, the 25 year old Gage whose job was to blast rocks while preparing the roadbed for the Rutland &Burlington Railroad. After a hole was bored in a rock, he added blasting powder, sand, and adjusting an iron rod. The powder exploded and caused the iron rod to penetrate Gage’s head, therefore, damaging the frontal lobe of his brain.

3. What happened to him as a result of his injuries?

 The iron rod which was penetrated in his head did not cause him to die however, it greatly affected his personality and behavior permanantly.

4. What did we learn about the brain based on this case study?

We learned that all people have different sections in our brain controlling different parts. In this case, if the brains frontal lobe is affected then you lose the ability to control your behavior, just like Phineas Gage.

5. Explain the idea of brain localization?

Brain Localization is the idea of the brain being able to control different parts of the body. Also, it means that if a part of the brain is damaged then some function depending on the part of the brain would be hard to function.

6. Explain the concept of brain lateralization?

Brain Lateralization is the concept of the human brain spliting into two distinct hemispheres. Each side resembles each other and is basically mirrored.

 

 Pictures

 

 Citations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

http://www.deakin.edu.au/hmnbs/psychology/gagepage/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html

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