Ok, hey guys! Today’s experiment isn’t really an actual experiment but more a person of interest. Studies were also done on him so I guess we could call it an experiment. The person we will be talking about today is Phineas Gage, who is known as neuroscience’s most favorite patient. Almost every intro Psychology textbook or class mentions Phineas Gage, as his case was truly very interesting.

On September 13, 1848 Phineas Gage was working in a construction site in Cavendish, Vermont.  As he was using this tamping iron to pack explosive powder, the powder detonated sending the 43 inch rod towards him. This rod came through his cheek, ripped through his brain and then exited from the side of his skull. The fact that this man survived made him pretty much of a celebrity. Everyone was talking about this and it was just fascinating how someone could survive an injury that severe especially to the brain. Little did they know, he had changed completely.

John Harlow was the man that was studying him and treating him months after the study. They noticed that his abilities to plan ahead and control his emotions were gone. He could not sticks to plans and would shout out the grossest profanity without even thinking before he said so. Because of this, the railroad company would not take him back and he ended up  joining some relatives in San Francisco where he eventually passed away.

It wasn’t until after his death that he became a famous patient in the history of neuroscience. His case was the first to suggest a relationship between traumatic events and a personality change. Many of his friends when asked described him as a different man completely. Before the accident they described him as a hard worker an