Quote:
Originally Posted by grant hutchison
The most famous prefrontal lobotomy patient in the world is probably Phineas Gage, who underwent the procedure under uncontrolled circumstances. While he was working as a railway construction foreman, an explosion sent a tamping iron straight through his head: there's a diagram of the extent and nature of of his injury here. He recovered consciousness almost immediately, and lived for another 12 years, but his personality had changed completely. Although this is often quoted as an example of the prefrontal cortex's role in the generation of personality, I've always felt there was a significant confounding factor involved: the guy had had a metal rod blown through his face and out the top of his head, for crying out loud! That might just change your outlook on life, all on its own. |
Wow...just wow...
I don't know if this applies as a pre-frontal cortex sitution or not, but my father's personality dramatically shifted in his thirties, along with some physical symptoms, like blackouts, that were later attributed to a benign cyst on the exterior right hand side of his head just aft of the cheek. The doctors postulated that it was pressure from this on a part of his brain in that region that drove him to hair trigger temper and near psychotic violence. After it was removed, his personality 180'd. Completely controlled and cool. It was definitely not very deep inside the brain, in fact, based on the descriptions I've heard, I believe it was on the surface.
Now, it could have been a chemical issue, but that would indicate the potential to alter personality through pressure somewhere other than the interior of the brain.