One of the first things that caught my attention in this course was a story about Phineas Gage. Phineas Gage was a mine worker in Vermont who dealt with essentially blowing up mountains. One day, he was in a traumatic explosion and a metal pole went through his cheekbone destroying frontal lobe. A man who was once known to be one of the friendliest in town became erratic and rude to the point of him becoming intolerable to others. Even though Gage survived the accident, he was never the same after.
Psychologists realized that the frontal lobe is what keeps the personality of a person is stored. The frontal lobe is responsible for cognitive actions such as emotional expression, problem-solving and other important abilities a person needs to function in society. By the pole ripping through Gage’s frontal lobe he lost the ability to control his emotions as well other important assets.
Growing up, my brothers and their friends played very contact heavy sports. They did wrestling, football, soccer and even just played rough at the house with their friends. My family and I tended to be close to many of their families. One of my brother’s friends suffered a large concussion from one of the football games but was said to be fine. A concussion is a “mild traumatic brain injury caused by a jolt to the head that disrupts brain function.”(UPMC). Little did anyone realize, my brother’s friend began to have outbursts and have trouble expressing any time of positive emotion. After doctors and a therapist took a second look, they realized there was some damage to the tissue in his frontal lobe causing the outburst. This made more sense to the way his friend was behaving and the family seeked counseling to aid his behavior and help their son.
Both Gage and my family friend went through traumatic brain issues that led to affect their behavior. Because of Phineas Gage’s accident, now psychologists are able to pinpoint the place of disruption in the brain using EEGs and MRI machines.
Helpful Links:
https://www.verywellmind.com/phineas-gage-2795244
https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/frontal-lobe#1