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What did Phineas Gage damage in his brain?
Phineas Gage is often referred to as the "man who began neuroscience."1 He experienced a traumatic brain injury when an iron rod was driven through his entire skull, destroying much of his frontal lobe.
How did Phineas Gage personality change?
He is often reported as having permanently lost his inhibitions, so that he started to behave inappropriately in social situations. Some reports state that became violent and "uncontrollable", and even that he started to molest children.
What were Phineas Gage symptoms?
He thought it was pressing on the left frontal lobe mainly because the patient's mental symptoms included "obscuration of intelligence, slowness of comprehension, [and] want of mental vigour." There is a very slight possibility that Macewen used knowledge of Gage in planning to operate on the frontal lobes.
What was Phineas Gage like before the accident?
Before the accident he had been their most capable and efficient foreman, one with a well-balanced mind, and who was looked on as a shrewd smart business man. He was now, Harlow said, fitful, irreverent, and grossly profane, showing little deference for his fellows.
How much brain matter did Phineas Gage lose?
Grey matter in the brain is essential to many areas of higher learning, including attention, memory and thought. The research by Van Horn proposed that Gage lost about 11% of his white matter and about 4% of his grey matter.
What is the result of damaged white matter in the brain?
White matter damage can cause a great deal of stress and increase the energy demands on the neuron. In some cases, the neuron will not be able to meet the energy demands and the entire neuron will die (cell body, axon, and dendrites).
How long did Phineas Gage live after the accident?
twelve yearsPhineas Gage died twelve years after the celebrated accident of epilepsy, leaving behind a fascinating legacy, and altering our understanding of the relation between the mind and the brain. Gage's skull has become a relic and is on display along with the famous iron rod at the Warren Anatomical Museum in Boston.
Where is Phineas Gage buried?
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, CAPhineas Gage / Place of burialCypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". Wikipedia
What type of seizure did Phineas Gage have?
Perhaps the most famous brain injury in history was a penetrating wound suffered by a railroad worker named Phineas Gage on September 13, 1848. Twelve years after his injury, on the 21st of May, 1860 Phineas Gage died of an epileptic seizure.
What parts of Phineas Gage's brain were affected?
"Connections were lost between the left frontal, left temporal and right frontal cortices and the left limbic structures of the brain, which likely had considerable impact on his executive as well as his emotional functions."
Did Phineas Gage have amnesia?
Miraculously, Gage suffered no motor or speech impairments as a result of his traumatic brain injury. His memory was intact, and he gradually regained his physical strength.
What was Phineas Gage's brain injury?
Phineas Gage, (born July 1823, New Hampshire, U.S.—died May 1860, California), American railroad foreman known for having survived a traumatic brain injury caused by an iron rod that shot through his skull and obliterated the greater part of the left frontal lobe of his brain.
What was the job of the Gage?
Among Gage’s duties was to clear rocks to level the ground. The task involved placing an explosive charge deep into the rock by drilling a hole. The hole was then filled with gunpowder, and a fuse was set. Sand was added on top of the explosive material to prevent contact.
Why did Gage add sand to explosives?
Sand was added on top of the explosive material to prevent contact. A tamping rod was then used to pack the explosives into the rock. On the afternoon of September 13, 1848, near Cavendish, Vermont, Gage tamped down the powder without the addition of the sand.
Did Gage change his personality?
However, Gage’s personality appears to have changed (for a time at least), causing his colleagues to state that he was “ no longer Gage.”. While some have described Gage as restless, disrespectful, and unreliable following the accident, the true extent of the personality changes he experienced are unknown.
Who was Phineas Gage?
Phineas P. Gage (1823–1860) was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable [B1] : 19 survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life—effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him (for a time at least) as "no longer Gage". [H] : 14
What did Phineas do?
Phineas was accustomed to entertain his little nephews and nieces with the most fabulous recitals of his wonderful feats and hair-breadth escapes, without any foundation except in his fancy. He conceived a great fondness for pets and souvenirs, especially for children, horses and dogs—only exceeded by his attachment for his tamping iron, which was his constant companion during the remainder of his life.
How old was Gage when he died?
The birthdate July 9, 1823, is given by a Gage genealogy without citation, [M] :16 but is consistent with agreement among contemporary sources that Gage was 25 years old on the date of his accident, and with his age (36 years) as given in undertaker's records after his death in May 1860.
What molar did Gage lose?
Gage's rearmost left upper molar, adjacent to the point of entry through the cheek, was also lost. Though a year later some weakness remained, [M] : 93 Harlow wrote that "physically, the recovery was quite complete during the four years immediately succeeding the injury". [H] : 19
Which scientist proved that the brain is not localized?
In the 19th-century debate over whether the various mental functions are or are not localized in specific regions of the brain (see Cerebral localization), both sides managed to enlist Gage in support of their theories. [B] :678 [M] :ch9 For example, after Eugene Dupuy wrote that Gage proved that the brain is not localized (characterizing him as a "striking case of destruction of the so-called speech centre without consequent aphasia ") Ferrier replied by using Gage (along with the woodcuts of his skull and tamping iron from Harlow's 1868 paper) to support his thesis that the brain is localized. [M] :188 [M5] :198,253
When did Gage die?
On May 18, 1860 Gage "left Santa Clara and went home to his mother. At 5 o'clock, A.M., on the 20th, he had a severe convulsion. The family physician was called in, and bled him. The convulsions were repeated frequently during the succeeding day and night," [H] : 15 and he died in status epilepticus, [M2] : E in or near San Francisco, late on May 21, 1860. He was buried in San Francisco's Lone Mountain Cemetery.
What was Gage's mental state before he died?
A report of Gage's physical and mental condition shortly before his death implies that his most serious mental changes were temporary, so that in later life he was far more functional, and socially far better adapted, than in the years immediately following his accident.
What happened to Phineas Gage?
The case of Phineas Gage has been of huge interest in the field of psychology and is a largely speculated phenomena. Gage suffered a severe brain injury from an iron rod penetrating his skull, of which he miraculously survived. After the accident, Gage’s personality was said to have changed as a result of the damage the frontal lobe of his brain.
What happened to Gage after he was thrown on his back?
After the incident, Gage was thrown onto his back from the force of the iron rod and had some brief convulsion of the arms and legs. Within a few minutes however, Gage was able to get himself up, speak and walk with small assistance to a nearby cart so he could travel into town.
How did Gage prepare the Rutland and Burlington Railroad?
On September 13th, 1848, when Gage was 25 years old, he was working in Cavendish in Vermont, leading a crew which were preparing the Rutland and Burlington Railroad by blasting rocks to make a roadbed. This was done by using an iron tamping rod to pack the explosive powder into a hole.
When did Gage die?
When Gage died in 1861 , no autopsies were performed until his skull was later recovered by Harlow years later. The brain damage which caused the significant personality changes were presumed to have involve the left frontal region of the brain.
Why is the Gage case important?
Gage’s case is important in the field of neuroscience. The reported changes in his behaviour post-accident is strong evidence for the localisation of brain function, meaning that specific areas of the brain are associated with certain functions.
Why is the Gage case so famous?
Gage’s case is famous in the field as it shows the resilience of the human brain and illustrates how certain areas of the brain have different functions and contribute to our personality.
Where did Gage work after the accident?
Four years after his injury, Gage moved to Chile and worked in taking care of horses and being a stagecoach driver.
What happened to Phineas Gage?
In 1848, Phineas Gage suffered a gruesome accident. BIasting through rock to build a new railroad in Ver mont, an explosion sent a 3-foot, 13-pound iron rod straight through his skull. Remarkably,
Who is Phineas Gage?
But this rural town of just over a thousand people can claim a remarkable historical figure: Phineas Gage. Gage was a young construction foreman who suffered a gruesome accident that changed the history of brain science. In 1848, while blasting through rock to build the new railroad, an explosion sent a 3-foot, ...
How far did the iron rod go in the skull of Gage?
In 1848, while blasting through rock to build the new railroad, an explosion sent a 3-foot, 13-pound iron rod up through his cheekbone and out the top of his skull. The tamping rod landed 80 feet away, " smeared with blood and brain .". Remarkably, Gage lived for another 11 years.
Where did Phineas Gage live?
Margo Caulfield, director of the Cavendish Historical Society, shows Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson the location of Phineas Gage's accident in Cavendish, Vermont.
What was the Gage case?
Here was a case of severe damage to the left frontal lobe, followed by a dramatic personality shift. It seemed to prove the point once and for all.
What is the significance of Gage's story?
Over the years, scientists have interpreted Gage’s story in different ways. At first, he was seen as a triumph of human survival. Then for decades he became a textbook case for post-traumatic personality change. More recently, Gage’s case has been interpreted as a story of resilience.
Did Gage work on the railroad?
Some families just cannot handle a patient like that.". Gage was unable to work on the railroad, but he still needed a job. For a while, he made money by exhibiting himself around New England as a curiosity, showing off the holes in his head and his famous tamping iron.
What was the resultant change in Gage's personality?
The resultant change in Gage’s personality — when he went from being well-liked and professionally successful to being “fitful, irreverent, and grossly profane, showing little deference for his fellows” and unable to keep his job — is widely cited in modern psychology as the textbook case for post-traumatic social disinhibition.
How big is the iron bar that was blown through the skull?
Imagine the modern-day reaction to a news story about a man surviving a three-foot , 7-inch, 13½-pound iron bar being blown through his skull — taking a chunk of his brain with it.
What happened to Phineas Gage?
While using an iron rod to tamp explosive powder into a hole, the powder ignited and sent the 43-inch long rod hurtling upward. The rod pierced through Gage’s cheek, passing though the frontal lobe of his brain before exiting the top of his skull and landing approximately 80 feet away.
What is Phineas Gage's impact on psychology?
So what makes him so significant in psychology? His brain injury was shocking and the result impact on his personality quickly became one of the most famous case studies in psychology and neuroscience.
How much of Gage's brain was damaged by the tamping rod?
One 1994 study suggested that both prefrontal cortices were affected, while a 2004 study indicated that the damage was limited to the left frontal lobe. In 2012, a new study estimated that approximately 11-percent of Gage’s frontal lobe was destroyed and that 4-percent of his cerebral cortex was impacted.
How did Gage die?
Gage died in 1860 following a series of epileptic seizures, just 12 and a half years after his accident. In 1866, Harlow requested that the family exhume the body . The skull was removed and sent to Harlow, along with the iron tamping bar that had been in Gage’s possession at the time of his death. Today, both the skull and the iron rod can be seen at Harvard Medical School’s Warren Anatomical Museum.
How far did the rod go through Gage's skull?
The rod pierced through Gage’s cheek, passing though the frontal lobe of his brain before exiting the top of his skull and landing approximately 80 feet away. Amazingly, Gage not only survived the accident, he also went on to become one of the earliest and most famous cases in the then just emerging field of neurology.
What does Harlow say about Gage?
In Harlow’s descriptions of Gage after the accident, he suggests that Gage would often make plans but fail to carry them out and that many of his friends described his personality as greatly changed, to the point that they felt he was “no longer Gage.”.
When was Phineas Gage's second photo taken?
The second known photo of Phineas Gage came to light in 2010. The image was in the possession of members of Gage’s family. Like the previously seen portrait, Gage is shown proudly holding the tamping iron that so dramatically altered his life.
What happened to Phineas Gage's brain?
The damage to Phineas Gage's brain. Within weeks of Phineas Gage's accident differences of opinion emerged among those who examined him about the extent and location of the damage to his skull and brain. Over time these differences increased. There are two problems: first, can the path of the tamping iron be estimated accurately from ...
What was the main injury to Gage's skull?
In summary, the main injury to Gage's skull was at the exit, where the tamping iron created an irregular area of damage about 3.5 inches long and 2 inches wide. The main problem in estimating the trajectory of the iron is to know exactly through which part of each of these areas the iron passed. It is a problem that is most acute for the exit area on the top of the skull.
How far in front of the junction was the Gage point?
Phelps, who examined Gage six weeks later, thought the point was about 0.5 inches in front of the junction and 1 inch to the left of the mid line. Henry Jacob Bigelow apparently drew no conclusions from his examination of Gage late in 1849, about a year after the accident, but when he drilled holes through a demonstration skull to show ...
Which hemisphere was affected by the Dupuy vs Gage rebuttal?
Harlow concluded that only the left hemisphere had been affected and that the right was 'intact.' Bigelow was equally clear that there was some right-sided damage. Dupuy accepted that the trajectory was left sided but placed it less frontally; claiming that the more posterior motor and language areas should have been destroyed. That Gage had no motor impairment or aphasia was prime evidence for Dupuy's anti-localisation arguments. In rebuttal, Ferrier showed fairly conclusively that the passage was not so posterior and that both motor and language areas had been spared. He also concluded that the only damage was to the left hemisphere, a conclusion that seems not to have been disputed for about 70 years.
Where is the tamping iron on Gage's skull?
There are three places where Gage's skull is damaged. There is a relatively small area under the zygomatic arch (or cheek bone) where the tamping iron first entered his head. The second place is the orbital bone of the base of the skull behind and below the eye socket. After healing, this area is about 1 inch wide by 2 inches in the anterior-posterior direction and its size at the time of injury is difficult to estimate by eye alone (upper left of a, below). The total area of bone damage caused by the tamping iron where it emerged is truly enormous. As can be seen in (b), there is an unhealed irregular, roughly triangular shaped area of total bone destruction at the top of the skull. Lying mainly to the left of the midline, it is about 2 inches wide and 4 inches in circumference, and there is another on the lower left side about 2.7 inches in circumference. Between them there is a flap of frontal bone about 2.5 inches long and about x 2 inches wide at the widest point (c). Behind the main area is a second flap of parietal bone about 2 wide and 0.75 to 1.5 inches long. Harlow replaced both flaps; the parietal (rear) reuniting so successfully that it is actually difficult to see from outside the skull. The image in (c) had been made by copying a photograph of the inside of the skull and 'pasting’ on the outside.
Which part of Gage's brain was damaged by the tamping iron?
Put simply, perhaps over simply, the further to the left of the midline of the base and the further to the right of the midline at the top, the more of the right lobe would be involved. Similarly, if the exit point is placed in front of the coronal and sagittal junction, the greater the frontal involvement; if behind it, the frontal damage is less.
How did Phineas make a computer model?
They first made a computer model of a skull like Phineas' by 'deforming' the image of a normal skull. They then located an a priori most likely exit point at the top of skull and identified other possible exit points around it.
Overview
Theoretical misuse
Though Gage is considered the "index case for personality change due to frontal lobe damage", the uncertain extent of his brain damage and the limited understanding of his behavioral changes render him "of more historical than neurologic interest". Thus, Macmillan writes, "Phineas' story is [primarily] worth remembering because it illustrates how easily a small stock of facts becomes …
Life
Gage was the first of five children born to Jesse Eaton Gage and Hannah Trussell (Swetland) Gage of Grafton County, New Hampshire. Little is known about his upbringing and education beyond that he was literate.
Physician John Martyn Harlow, who knew Gage before his accident, described him as "a perfectly healthy, strong and active young man, twenty-five years of …
Mental changes and brain damage
Gage may have been the first case to suggest the brain's role in determining personality and that damage to specific parts of the brain might induce specific personality changes, but the nature, extent, and duration of these changes have been difficult to establish. Only a handful of sources give direct information on what Gage was like (either before or after the accident), the mental changes p…
Factors favoring Gage's survival
Harlow saw Gage's survival as demonstrating "the wonderful resources of the system in enduring the shock and in overcoming the effects of so frightful a lesion, and as a beautiful display of the recuperative powers of nature", and listed what he saw as the circumstances favoring it:
1st. The subject was the man for the case. His physique, will, and capacity of e…
Harlow saw Gage's survival as demonstrating "the wonderful resources of the system in enduring the shock and in overcoming the effects of so frightful a lesion, and as a beautiful display of the recuperative powers of nature", and listed what he saw as the circumstances favoring it:
1st. The subject was the man for the case. His physique, will, and capacity of e…
Early medical attitudes
Barker notes that Harlow's original 1848 report of Gage's survival and recovery "was widely disbelieved, for obvious reasons" and Harlow, recalling this early skepticism in his 1868 retrospective, invoked the Biblical story of Doubting Thomas:
The case occurred nearly twenty years ago, in an obscure country town ..., wa…
Portraits
Two daguerreotype portraits of Gage, identified in 2009 and 2010, are the only likenesses of him known other than a plaster head cast taken for Bigelow in late 1849 (and now in the Warren Museum along with Gage's skull and tamping iron). The first portrait shows a "disfigured yet still-handsome" Gage with left eye closed and scars clearly visible, "well dressed and confident, even proud" and h…
See also
• Anatoli Bugorski – scientist whose head was struck by a particle-accelerator proton beam
• Eadweard Muybridge – another early case of head injury leading to mental changes
• Alexis St. Martin – man whose abdominal fistula allowed pioneering studies of digestion