AP PSYCHOLOGY

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Which part of the brain was damaged when Phineas Gage was injured?
A
frontal lobe
B
parietal lobe
C
temporal lobe
D
occipital lobe
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Miraculously, Gage lived, becoming the most famous case in the history of neuroscience-not only because he survived a horrific accident that led to the destruction of much of his left frontal lobe but also because of the injury’s reported effects on his personality and behavior, which were said to be profound.

Detailed explanation-2: -Damage to the brain When Gage died in 1861, no autopsies were performed until his skull was later recovered by Harlow years later. The brain damage which caused the significant personality changes were presumed to have involve the left frontal region of the brain.

Detailed explanation-3: -Phineas Gage, (born July 1823, New Hampshire, U.S.-died May 1860, California), American railroad foreman known for having survived a traumatic brain injury caused by an iron rod that shot through his skull and obliterated the greater part of the left frontal lobe of his brain.

Detailed explanation-4: -In summary, the main injury to Gage’s skull was at the exit, where the tamping iron created an irregular area of damage about 3.5 inches long and 2 inches wide. The main problem in estimating the trajectory of the iron is to know exactly through which part of each of these areas the iron passed.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 1948, Phineas Gage had a workplace accident in which an iron tamping rod entered and exited his skull. He survived but it is said that his personality changed as a result, leading to a greater understanding of the brain regions involved in personality, namely the frontal lobe.

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