1. PHINEAS GAGE Gloria Mensah, Rachelle Blash, Madison Carr, Adina Beslagic

2. The Story  Phineas Gage was a railroad worker  On September 13 th, 1848 he was working on a railroad bed and an explosion went off with the tamping iron he was working with  The iron weighed 13 pounds and penetrated his left cheek, went through his brain, and landed several yards away  He was conscious after the accident and was able to communicate with his physician, Dr. John Marytn Harlow  After being treated by Harlow for 10 weeks, Gage went home

4. After the Accident  The tamping iron went directly through Gage’s frontal lobes which affected his personality  Damage to frontal cortex leads to a complete loss of social inhibitions, explaining the inappropriate behavior  He worked several jobs afterwards because his old employer would not take him back  He moved back in with his mother and died in 1860 from a series of seizures  Gage was the first to provide evidence that the frontal cortex is involved in personality.

5. Personality Changes  Before the accident  Capable  Efficient  Well-balanced mind  Shrewd, smart business man  After the accident  Extremely profane  Showed little respect for those around him  Impatient and obstinate  Indecisive  Friends said he was “no longer Gage”

6. Frontal Lobe  Controls:  Motor function  Problem solving  Spontaneity  Memory  Language  Considered our emotional control center and is home to our personality  Initiation  Judgment  Impulse controls  Social behavior  Sexual behavior

7. Lobotomy  Lobotomy: surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain to severe one or more nerve tracts, a technique formerly used to treat certain mental disorders, but now is rarely performed  Lobotomies were common from 1949 to 1952  By cutting certain nerves, lobotomies get rid of “excess emotion and stabilize a personality”  Gage’s accident was an accidental lobotomy

8.  Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. (n.d.). Harvard. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from https://www.countway.harvard.edu/menuN https://www.countway.harvard.edu/menuN  Phineas Gage Case. (n.d.). Harvard. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from https://www.countway.harvard.edu/menuN om https://www.countway.harvard.edu/menuN om  The University of Akron : Lobotomy. (n.d.). The University of Akron : UA Home. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://www.uakron.edu/gage/lobotomy.dothttp://www.uakron.edu/gage/lobotomy.dot  The incredible case of Phineas Gage | Mo Costandi. (n.d.). Mo Costandi | Neuroscience writer. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/the-incredible-case-of-Phineas-gage/ http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/the-incredible-case-of-Phineas-gage/  Traumatic Brain Injury Resource Guide - Frontal Lobes. (n.d.). Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Resource Guide. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://www.neuroskills.com/brain-injury/frontal-lobes.php http://www.neuroskills.com/brain-injury/frontal-lobes.php  Phineas Gage: Neuroscience's Most Famous Patient | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine. History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2013, from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas- Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html?c=y&page=1http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas- Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html?c=y&page=1