Case Studies

• Triangulation

  When a case study uses multiple methods to gather data on an individual
• Phineas Gage - Individual differences

  There could be individual differences because this injury is very rare so there could be limited evidence from other case studies to help support the evidence creating the theories on how damage to the frontal cortex can affect the limbic system. However, this evidence could be generalised to others as there were not really any other variables that affected Phineas Gage’s brain but it should be compared to other cases where the frontal cortex has been damaged to make sure that there definitely were not any other confounding variables.
• Phineas Gage - accident

  • In 1848 an iron rod hit the rock, creating a spark that ignited the explosives. The rod was propelled through Gage’s skull, entering through his left cheekbone and exiting through the top of his head. It was later found some 30 yards away from Gage
  • within minutes Gage was sitting up in a cart, conscious and recounting what had happened.
  • The wound became infected and Gage fell into a semi-comatose state. His family did not expect him to survive but he returned home nearly a year later
• Phineas Gage - Character Change

  • Gage’s character altered dramatically after his accident. In 1868 Harlow wrote a report on the ‘mental manifestations’ of Gage’s injuries. He described Gage as “fitful, irreverent, indulging at times in the grossest profanity…capricious and vacillating” and being “radically changed, so decidedly that his friends and acquaintances said he was ‘no longer Gage’.”
• Phineas Gage - 19th Century Analysis

  • The damage to Gage’s frontal cortex caused by the iron rod seems to have resulted in a loss of social inhibitions. The role of the frontal cortex in social cognition and decision making is now well-recognised; in the 19th century, however, neurologists were only just beginning to realise these connections. Gage’s injuries provided some of the first evidence that the frontal cortex was involved in personality and behaviour.
• Phineas Gage - Current Analysis using technology

  • A new digital model of the rod’s path. It suggested that the damage to Gage’s brain was more extensive and severe than had previously been estimated: up to 4 per cent of the cerebral cortex and about 11 per cent of the total white matter in the frontal lobe were destroyed.
  • The model also indicates that the accident damaged the connections between the frontal cortex to the limbic system, which are involved in the regulation of emotions.