I've been teaching briefly about this guy for years. He's the perfect example of a case study when we cover different research methods, and he's applicable to the biological bases of behavior unit when we cover ways to study the brain. Typically, I give him a sentence or two during each of those units and don't think about him again for another year.
But this year, he keeps popping up. For instance, I was reading The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean, in which there's an entire chapter dedicated to him (great book, by the way!). I knew there was more to Gage's story and Kean does a great job of covering what is actually known about him.
Then I was visiting Vermont for a beautiful fall wedding, when I remembered that his accident happened somewhere in the state. Turns out, I was staying only about 10 minutes away. So, of course, I popped over to Cavendish for a visit to the monument and to see the railway his dangerous work was preparing for. The monument consists of a rather large plaque with a timeline, a map of the area that shows where the accident occurred nearby, and a brief story that essentially contains the same information as the timeline.
I also did a bit more in class when I talked about him this year. Thankfully, at the beginning of the school year it's easy to find fake skulls (thank you, Dollar Tree), so I had a demonstration prop for our discussion of Gage's contributions to neuroscience. I thought the students might be grossed out, but I think the styrofoam skull was far enough from reality that no one was too bothered and it seemed to help them better understand the story and the location of the brain damage.
The dollar tree carries two sizes of styrofoam skulls leading up to halloween. For my large skull, I painted a plastic knitting needle (also from Dollar Tree) black to resemble the tamping rod. I picked up some smaller skulls and toothpicks for my students to create their own models, leading them to pay attention to the location and direction of the "rod" placement.
So who WAS this guy!? And why do we care about him in psychology?
On September 13, 1848, Phineas Gage was working on a rail line in Vermont when an unexpected explosion sent his tamping iron completely through his skull and out the other side. This would be just a tragic story, except for the fact that Gage survived. Missing part of his frontal lobe, he recovered and continued living his life.
Unfortunately, there is little known about how he was neurologically impacted by the accident. Miraculously, following the injury, he didn't lose consciousness and was able to talk to his doctors without issue. He recognized family that visited him the following day and remained stable for a few days, until an infection developed, leading to a coma. An emergency surgery and a few week's care stabilized him enough that he could return home.
He suffered some memory lapses, but his mental faculties remained. However, those who knew him, famously said that he "was no longer Gage." His personality had changed. He became capricious, easily frustrated, foul-mouthed, and lacked his previous money-sense.
But there was a tragically small amount of information collected by his doctors in terms of HOW his functioning differed in the short time after the accident and even less information about the later years of his life. People close to Gage said he was different, but did Gage himself feel that way? He didn't keep a journal and we don't have record of any one asking him. No one ever performed a psychological evaluation.
Though there are many unknowns and misconceptions about his life after the accident, his is the most famous name in neuroscience and he graces the pages of most psychology textbooks. His story, with all its gaping holes, is one worth knowing.
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