In 1848, a railroad foreman named Phineas Gage was injured in an explosion, when a tamping iron penetrated his skull and caused brain damage; surprisingly, he survived. The rod was 1.25" in diameter and 3.5' long. After the accident he was able to speak, get himself up and down from a cart, and climb a flight of stairs to see the local physicians. Years later, the doctors reported that he
physically recovered, but the balance between his intellectual facilities and animal propensities was destroyed. He was no longer mild-mannered, kind, and respectful; he grew obstinate, ill-tempered, and showed little self-restraint. Based on this story, what area(s) of the brain (and/or systems) do you think he injured and why?
What will be an ideal response?
The regions damaged by the iron rod were the frontal lobes of the cerebrum. Based on what we have learned, we can hypothesize that the limbic system was most likely injured since it acts as the link between higher cognitive functions and primitive emotional responses. The limbic system contains the cingulate gyrus, which plays a role in emotions, and the amygdala, which is involved in emotion and memory. Since we can tell from the story that he definitely exhibited different emotions, we can hypothesize that these areas were injured.
Based on the fact that he physically recovered, we can assume that the somatosensory cortex, mid- and hindbrain areas were unaffected.
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