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Phineas P. Gage Case Study

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Psychology has had a huge impact on how we study behavior, and how we treat any problems related in any way with the brain, psychologically,and physically. Back in the nineteenth century however, any means of studying an active brain was nearly impossible due, to the lack of technology and proper equipment. However, on September 13, 1848, a young man by the name of Phineas P. Gage, suffered a very severe Injury, in which an iron rod pierced through his head, when unexpected explosion occurred while he worked on a American railroad construction site, with his fellow workers. The damage he sustained from the incident included the destruction of his left and right frontal lobe, also losing his eye, regardless of the injury, he survived the incident. This was the first case, that anyone was able study an active, live brain. The incident , deeply …show more content…

Before the incident he was considered a very ethical man, smart, efficient worker, and creditworthy. However, afterwards, it was said that he was impatient, childish, drifting off, and unfitting of going to work ever again, it is said that his friends said he was,”No longer Gage.” Phineas P. Gage never lived another normal day after the accident.
The damage in which he sustained in his left, and right, frontal lobe located in front of the brain, affected a lot of his behavior. The frontal lobe is associated with dopamine sensitive neurons, which contribute to the sense of a reward, planning, short term memory loss, mixed emotions, attention span, motivation. It is also the area behind voluntary movement. It is concluded that Gage had many of these symptoms throughout his life span. Some effects of brain damage of the frontal lobe include having mini strokes, due to clogging of blood flow to the brain, which can even paralyze certain areas of the body. Another effect is Confabulation, in

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Alan’s therapist, Crystal Mangir, also said “If Alan were in a wheelchair, or had a cast on his leg, people would understand that something happened… but no one can see a broken brain” (Crimmins 199). This mentality would show why after Alan regained his ability of movement, the insurance companies decided not to pay for Alan’s rehab therapy since he was no longer in need of therapy. After a traumatic brain injury it is very important to relearn the daily bases activity and in most cases physical therapy is the final step to complete physical recovery. This misunderstanding of brain injury was what Cathy Crimmins hoped to shed light on throughout this

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Douglas Mawson, Henrietta Lacks, and Phineas Gage: what do all of these people have in common? They have all suffered from adversity throughout their life, but unlike us these three had to face the adversity of excruciating pain and even death. In the article “Into the Unknown” Douglas Mawson had to travel across the arctic wasteland known as antarctica, but Mawson did not know it would be this difficult. Then In the article “Immortal cells, Enduring issues” Henrietta Lacks got sick and eventually died, but not before doctors found out Lacks 's immortal cells would help scientists make cures for many forms of diseases. Finally in the video “The Man with the Hole in His Brain” Phineas Gage had a iron rod blasted through his head and survived.

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None of his family or close friends knew why he did this. He had never shown any signs of depression or suicidal tendencies. His family donated his brain to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). They then found out he had Chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

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As their bodies deteriorated, however, their minds stayed strong: “Given how badly the men’s bodies were faring, it would seem likely that their minds, too, would begin to fail. But more than five weeks into their ordeal, both Louie and Phil were enjoying remarkable precision of mind, and were convinced that they were growing sharper every day” (173). Through his outstanding actions towards Phil and through his mind’s keenness, Louie’s intelligence flourished. Finally, after many weeks at

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It was a terrible mishap. I could see something in Gene that I hadn't seen before when we started to talk about Phineas's death. All of a sudden Gene broke out, " I tried to tell him what really happened when I visited him at his home. He didn't believe me, and he got upset when I told him. " I knew now that what Gene did was on purpose, but I still didn't understand how Phineas got hurt the second time.

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Phineas was athletic and thriving for the summer but as soon as the seasons start to change and it gets closer to Fall he becomes a cripple. Gene's one movement when they were in the tree caused Finny to fall changing the way some people looked at him. During the Summer people looked at Phineas like he was a god. Finny was great at sports but once Autumn came near and after the accident he lost the way people looked at him in a god like manner. People looked at Finny and saw him as the kid who fell out of the tree, they didn't look up to him anymore.

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As particular circuits in our brain strengthen through the repetition of a physical or mental activity, they begin to transform that activity into a habit” (34). Carr establishes his idea of neuroplasticity by providing a test performed by neuroscientist, Michael Merzenich. He observed monkeys with damage to the nerves in their fingers. When a portion of the hurt monkeys’ hands were affected, the indication became disordered because of the way their brains and their fingers were being stimulated. Amazingly, the monkeys adjusted the psychological misperception by their selves.

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In addition, the divisibility argument does not account for various other factors including diseases of the brain or psychological disorders such as multiple personality disorder. Modern science has shown that contrary to Descartes' divisibility argument, when a part of the brain is removed a part of the mind gets impacted. Although these effects are not evident when an arm or a leg is cut off, there is evidence which supports the idea that when a certain part of the brain, such as the frontal lobe is removed, the consequences result in severe impairment in their personality as well as their ability to reason. Furthermore Studies on the brain have shown that a disease in the brain can affect mind processes, in particular Alzheimer's disease

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We see with our brains, not with our eyes” a quote, said by many depicting that our braids are the ones who perceive what our eyes see. In excerpts from “Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science” by John Fleischman, a twenty-six year old man, Phineas Gage sustains a very serious brain injury in a work accident. After many medical procedures, he seemed okay. Phineas Gage did not make a complete recovery post-accident.

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The thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and the hippocampus are structures in the brain that enables us to remember, recall and creates new memories. Wearing showed specific symptoms of his memory loss. He would repeat himself often and exhibit moment to moment consciousness. He often showed extremely emotional behavior like fits of rage. After a period of about two minutes he felt that he was awake for the first time,

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Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy(CTE) is a progressive degenerative brain disease that affects the lives of many who suffer from head trauma of the brain. CTE has been associated with many different diseases within a person 's memory, personality changes, Parkinsonism, along with speech or gait abnormalities. The disease initially was described as “punch-drunk” syndrome. Dr. Harrison Martland made the theory in 1928 as a group of boxers began having multiple symptoms of what is formally known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

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While arguably one of the defining psychological studies of the 20th Century, the research was not without flaws. Almost immediately the study became a subject for debate amongst psychologists who argued that the research was both ethically flawed and its lack of diversity meant it could not be generalized. Ethically, a significant critique of the experiment is that the participants actually believed they were administering serious harm to a real person, completely unaware that the learner was in fact acting. Although Milgram argued that the illusion was a necessary part of the experiment to study the participants’ reaction, they were exposed to a highly stressful situation. Many were visibly distraught throughout the duration of the test

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During the twentieth- century, lobotomy became a popular procedure performed on patients with neurosis such as schizophrenia, bi-polar mood disorder, personality disorder, etc. Many scientists, especially at the time, argued that poking holes through parts of the brain and swishing parts around helps make patients more calm and cooperative. I predict that lobotomy had no benefits for the patient but rather in a dissociative state to appear calm. By understanding the history of lobotomy, patients' experience and stories, and alternatives we can grasp a better view in how lobotomy was unethical and ineffective. Lobotomy has evolved from various techniques, patients, countries, and psychosurgeons.

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In The Tragedy of Hamlet , by William Shakespeare, some of the most significant events are mental or psychological events that make the audience feel and have an emotional connection with the characters. Moreover, these significant events are categorized as new awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness that set off a mental or psychological effect to the readers. The author, Shakespeare, gives these internal events to characters such as Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet throughout the play to give the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax which associate with their external action. Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and the sister of Laertes, who both tell her to stop seeing Hamlet. To Polonius, Ophelia is an eternal virgin who

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Lezak M.D, Howieson D.B, Loring D.W. (Eds.). (2004.). Neuropsychological Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.

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