Miracles happen everyday when it comes to a human brain’s power to 
rebuild… Who can forget the news from 1848 – when a three and a half foot long iron rod rammed into Phineas Gage's face…and he recovered. At the railroad where he worked as construction foreman a rod pierced Gage’s left cheek, traveled behind his eye, and burst through the top of his skull. While people thought he would die, unbelievably after the accident, Gage began to talk and walk again. Read the story….
Two powerful brain "imaging" technologies--positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—today provide images of normal and damaged brains ... so researchers can see more than poor old Phineas’ doctors could see or fix…. Have you known people whose personality changed when they aged or when they went through a tough time…. Does Phineas’ story help you to see changes that occur in personality when something alters in the brain…. What do you think?
Ellen - I have a minor but interesting personal experience with this. About a year ago I went through chemo and noticed afterwards that I had real trouble remembering people's names and holding on to my latest thought! I have always assumed that my brain was damaged in some way. The interesting part is that by concentrating on it and learning a few tricks (always taking notes, recording things, writing down names so that I can see them as well as hear them) I usually do just fine. The brain is such an amazing thing!
Posted by: ann | May 19, 2006 7:29 PM | Permalink to Comment