Phineas Gage Essay

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Phineas Gage Paper PSY/360 7/16/2013 Phineas Gage Paper Phineas Gage the Brain and Cognitive Functions The case of Phineas Gage dates back over 160 years and is therefore considered one of the most historical documented medical cases involving damage to the prefrontal cortex. The exact region of Phineas’ brain damage will remain only speculative due to the lack of medical diagnosis technology in the mid-1800s. The human prefrontal cortex is divided into four regions; the dorsolateral area, ventral lateral area, the frontal pole and the basal part of the prefrontal cortex known as the orbitofrontal cortex (Palk, 1998). Neuro-anatomy The prefrontal cortex region has extensive connections through which it receives sensory data from visual, gustation, and olfactory via cortico-cortical and thalamo-frontal connections. The cross-communication and the many reciprocal interconnections suggest that the prefrontal cortex is the central executive or supervisory attention site in the brain. Clinical observations of patients with damage to their prefrontal cortex; shows clearly unimpaired basic sensory motor task and on conventional intelligences test. The areas that were noticed to show loss of skills were indicated in higher-order cognitive functioning, planning, attention shifting and the speed of the mental process; psychological developments showed personality changes (Palk, 1998). Phineas Gage Fact and Fiction The known facts about the tragic case of Phineas Gage: Phineas was a 25 year old healthy man who worked as a foreman for a railroad construction company. Phineas was in charge of placement of the explosive charges drilled into the bed rock and at that time in history “explosive technician”, meant the smartest and bravest man on the job. Author Macmillan (2008) stated that, “To focus the explosive force, the power and fuse would be gently

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