Research based on the rare accident of a railroad construction worker in the US who had an iron rod penetrate his skull laid the foundation for the birth of modern neuroscience .
Phineas P. Gage after the accident with the iron bar. Photo: Wikimedia
When an explosion sent a steel bar straight through the forehead of New Hampshire railroad foreman Phineas P. Gage, no one expected him to survive. Even less could they have imagined that this would be a milestone in medical history, leading to the birth of modern neuroscience, according to IFL Science .
The iron rod penetrated Gage's skull from his left cheek through his brain and emerged at the top of his skull, eventually landing a few meters away from the explosion. The accident occurred on September 13, 1984, when Gage used a steel rod to stuff explosives into the hole. The iron rod brushed against a rock, creating a spark that ignited the explosives. The impact of the explosion caused the 6 kg, 1 meter long and 3.2 cm diameter iron rod to penetrate his head. Gage was thrown away and lay convulsing on the ground. However, after a few minutes, a miracle happened, he regained consciousness and was able to speak. He then walked and sat upright in his ox cart for the 1.2 km journey back to the hotel.
Half an hour after the accident, Dr. Edward H. Williams arrived and could not believe what he saw. Gage was sitting in a chair outside the hotel, talking to people around him with the iron bar. It penetrated Gage's skull, penetrated the left lobe of his brain, rupturing part of his brain and pushing his eyeball out of his eye socket. When Williams examined him, Gage stood up too quickly and vomited. However, the next day, he was able to walk normally and said he would return to work in two days.
Back in his hotel room, Gage lay down on the bed while Williams and his assistant treated his wounds and bandaged them. He recovered in about 10 weeks, much shorter than other similar injuries. During his recovery, he lost his left eye due to swelling and spent several days in a coma due to a fungal infection of the brain. Even so, the team of doctors who treated him were amazed at his speed. Back home, Gage's parents reported that he was even able to work in the stables and plow the fields. Tests at the hospital showed that he had no headaches, although his brain movements were clearly visible through the thin skin over the wound.
In 1859, while in Chile, Gage's health declined dramatically. He began to suffer from epileptic seizures and acted strangely, unlike his previous self. After a short stay with his mother, Phineas Gage died at the age of 36. Although Gage's body was buried, his skull was sent to the Warren Anatomical Museum for analysis.
Although Gage survived, his friends and colleagues noticed major changes in his personality and behavior, according to Dr. John Harlow, who also treated him. In a 1998 article in the journal BMJ, neuroscientists Kieran O'Driscoll and John Paul Leach explored why Gage "wasn't himself" after the accident. They concluded that although the accident did not cause much physical damage, it had led to major psychological trauma for Gage.
Before the accident, Gage was cautious, hardworking, and well-balanced. Afterward, he became erratic, rude, vulgar, impatient, hesitant, and more instinctive. But Gage's memory and general intelligence were completely unaffected. This led researchers of the time to discover that different parts of the brain were responsible for different aspects of life. Gage's left frontal lobe was the only lobe affected by the accident. So they found that it was the area responsible for controlling personality and impulses.
Researchers have also discovered that the brain has the ability to heal itself. Although Gage’s new personality traits appeared almost simultaneously with his recovery, over time he began to revert to his old self. Scientists later attributed this in part to social adaptation. Gage’s case became the most prominent example of how social cognition and personality depend on the brain’s frontal lobe.
An Khang (According to IFL Science )
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