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The now classic case study of Phineas Gage sparked much interest in how changes in the brain produce changes in personality.
Phineas Gage was a railroad worker who suffered massive frontal lobe brain damage when a tamping iron was accidentally shot through his head. (Click below for graphic) Amazingly, Gage was able to sit up and speak immediately after the accident, and once the wound healed, was able to return to work.
His memories and mental abilities were unchanged, but his personality changed considerably. Whereas once Gage was an easy-going, pleasant person, he became an irritable, profane, unpredictable person. Unable to hold a job he ended up making a living as a fairground exhibit.
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