Phineas Gage: An Accidental First in Neuroscience

On the afternoon of September 13, 1848 a foreman for the construction of the railroad in Cavendish, Vermont suffered one of the most noteworthy neurological accidents in history.

Twenty six year old Phineas Gage, due to an unfortunate explosion, had an iron rod, a tamping iron used for blasting, shoot straight through his head.

The odd and interesting aftermath was that Phineas showed no obvious signs of brain damage.  He spoke coherently and his memory remained intact.

His unusual case attracted the attention of doctors in the medical community who reported their observations and findings.

Through accounts from those close to Phineas it was discovered that in fact there had been extreme changes in his personality. Phineas went from being a responsible, ethical and highly conscientious person to someone of a totally different and opposite character.

After the accident, Phineas became unruly and unreliable; using profane language and changing his mind at every turn.

In time, as medicine made great strides in understanding the brain, the tragic story of Phineas has gone down in history as one of the first illustrations of the importance of the frontal lobes for excecutive function given that this was the brain region injured in the blast. And sadly Phineas could no longer live a functional life after his injury despite being able to communicate and use memory without problem.

Sources: Scientific American and Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

Phineas Gage by John Fleishman