Phineas Gage - Research Paper Example

, A Modern Phineas Gage, 2005). When prying the truth from fiction in the case of Phineas Gage, one must always go back to the facts of the individual’s life and try to extract general principles from one case. Although case studies are traditionally an unreliable sort of tool for making psychological conclusions, the Gage case provides an excellent example of the manipulation of one variable that could not be otherwise manipulated except by a terrible accident. Thus, understanding Gage’s biography is crucially important for drawing out principles.

Psychologists are often quick to cite the Gage case but without a deep understanding. The hope in this essay is to discover what the variable manipulation in the case of Phineas Gage actually proves with respect to the history and field of neurophysiology and biopsychology. Phineas Gage’s relatively uneventful life as a young man in the northeast was punctuated at the age of 25, on September 13, 1848. At that time, Gage was working as a supervisor for American railroad Rutland & Burlington, laying down tracks for the ever-expending network of trains moving across the United States.

Just outside of Cavendish, Vermont, Gage was in charge of adding an explosive (composed of gunpowder, a fuse, and sand) to holes drilled into the rock. He would compact these materials using a large iron rod. However, possibly making an error late in the day on the 13th, Gage’s powder exploded and projected the iron rod through his head. The hole formed in his head was approximately 1.25 inches in diameter and 3.5 feet in length. Entering through one side of his face, it destroyed the backside of his left eye and left a hole in the top of his head (Harlow, 1848).

Immediately following the incident, Gage reportedly talked and could stand upright, even though the bar had entered and exited his head, landing nearly 80 feet away. Gage’s health never worsened, even though he was left somewhat comatose in the weeks following the accident. Eventually, however, Gage regained the ability to walk on his own, speak clearly, and complete everyday activities (Fleischman, 2002). By April 1849, nearly 7 months after his accident, Gage returned to Cavendish, Vermont.

The doctors who had originally treated him noted the physical results of the trauma, including loss of vision in the eye that was damaged, scarring on the forehead, and partial paralysis of the left side of the face. Aside from these residual effects, Gage seemed normal in terms of his physical health and that he had recovered from his injuries, with no acute pain in his head. Nevertheless, the patient was psychologically affected. He exhibited childish behavior; his personality changed significantly according to his wife and his doctor began making a checklist of mental changes in the patient (Cuizon, 2009).

For instance, before the accident, Gage was productive, responsible and “a great favorite” with the men, and his employers believed him to be the most efficient and supervisor. After the accident, he was so ineffectual as a foreman that the company refused to give him his old job back. They remarked at he was “no longer Gage” (Cuizon, 2009). Gage would eventually die twelve years after his accident in May of 1860 in California. He suffered from convulsions of an unknown cause. After his death, Gage’s head was taken for scientific study and is still used for psychological