Ethics

Phineas Gage Photo Found

By Adam Kolber

Well, actually, it's a daguerreotype.  From an LA Times article:

Massachusetts photographers have unearthed the only known image of legendary brain-injury patient Phineas Gage, a daguerreotype showing the former railroad worker sitting in repose and holding the nearly 4-foot-long iron rod that pierced his brain without killing him.

Contemporary accounts suggest that Gage's personality was dramatically altered because he was disfigured in the accident, but the new image, to be published online next week in the Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, shows a relatively handsome man -- confirming the belief of most experts that damage to his brain accounted for the changed personality.

I like how the second paragraph above connects the photo to our understanding of the famous case and not just to our morbid curiosity.  If you click on the small image of Gage in the L.A. Times article, you'll see a larger version.

Hat tip: Mind Hacks (which has some more to say about the photo).

Full post as published by Neuroethics and Law on July 16, 2009 (boomark / email).