Phineas gage paper essay

The brains role in cognitive functions is huge because it is the central processing center for all the actions that we do. The brain is the key to cognitive functions because it controls the different types of cognitive functions such as perception, attention, emotion, planning and action, learning and memory, thinking, language and all other aspects of cognition all take place in the brain this according to the researchers at The Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC). With the brain being able to control so many different types of cognitive functions many researchers wondered what specific parts of the brain controlled the different types of functions. Cognitive psychologist wanted to know how the brain functions controlled the different types of behavior that people exhibited.

So there were to aspects that had to be understood about the cognitive function of the brain and it was how it controls the different types of cognitive functions and behaviors of a person. That leads us to the curious case of Phineas Gage, the railroad foreman that got struck in the head by a crowbar. It went through the frontal lobe of the brain and people were astounded that he lived. What researchers saw was an opportunity to study the brain and to see how different regions of the brain affected behavior and mental ability.

The brain is a spectacular structure that can do many functions at one time. That is why it is important to understand how the brain controls the different types of functions because researchers want to know how these functions work will in some people and why it doesn’t work well in others. Understanding the structure of the brain and what parts specifically control each function is important to understanding the cognitive disorders that do arise due to damage to the brain. If researchers can pinpoint what parts of the brain control which functions it would make it easier to diagnosis an issue that someone is having because they would look at the particular region of the brain and see how they can fix it. Researchers that are studying the cognitive functions of the brain are using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to see specific parts of the brain so they can accurately pinpoint what region of the brain that is having the difficulty so that they can focus their attention to it and figure out how to best retrain that part of the brain according to CNBC.

The understanding of behavior when it comes to cognitive functions is also something that researchers are trying to understand because they want to understand the correlation between the two. The way that researchers acquire information about the different levels of cognitive functions is by observing the task that the individual is doing. By observing the task that the individual is doing they can see how cognitive function plays a role in the way they complete the task. The brains role in the behavior of cognitive function task such as reading a book or memorizing flash cards can all be observed to figure out the cognitive level of a person. If a person has cognitive disorder such as dyslexia or schizophrenia a research can see through brain activity that their behavior is different in completing a task because there cognitive function is different. The processing of the information when it comes to individuals that have a cognitive disability is different because there brain is processing the information in a different way. In the case Phineas Gage it showed researchers that the brain can heal from severe brain damage but that if different regions of the brain are damaged it will affect the behavior of the person.

When Phineas was struck by the crowbar in his head it damaged his frontal lobe and it changed the way that he behaved. This behavior change was observable by the people that interacted with Phineas such as his contractors and friends. His behavior changed so dramatically that his friends said,“ He was no longer Gage”(Neurophilosophy). Phineas dramatic change in behavior showed researchers that different regions of your brain control the way that we behave. The example was the dramatic change in Phineas Gage behavior it was like he was completely different person because the frontal lobe was amaged.

This showed the importance of the different regions of the brain because if any parts of the brain were damaged. It could change the behavior of the person and also there cognitive function. So researchers wanted to learn how the different regions of the brain affect the cognitive functions of an individual. Phineas Gage’s accident helped to in showing that even if the brain is damaged we can still function but it would be different. The research that has been done on the cognitive function and the role the brain plays is huge because it shows the connection between the two.

That if the brain is damaged it will affect the cognitive function of the individual. The understanding of the structure of the brain and the role the different regions play is important because it shows that the even if a part is damage you can still function. The example of Phineas Gage was important for others to see because it showed the affects of brain damage to an individual and how it affects the behavior of a person. We are still trying to understand the full potential of the brain but it seems that researcher are understanding the role of the brain and cognitive functions.