Phineas Gage was a construction worker on a rail road who is one of the earliest recorded victims who have suffered severe brain trauma. On 13th September, 1848, Gage and his crew were working on a rail road in Vermont for Rutland and Burlington. Gage was preparing for the explosion by compacting a bore with explosive powder and somehow the tamping iron lit a spark and caused an explosion that forced the tamping iron through his left cheek bone and came out through his skull andlaunched him 30 feet backwards. As a result of his injuries he suffered massive brain trauma but somehow minutes after the accident he was walking. Some people say he changed, not physically but he was not a good person to be around. It is believed that he lost social inhibitions, which often lead him to inappropriate behavior. What we learned about the brain is that no one knew that the brain could survive such a severe injury, now we do. We also learned where the brain has its “commanding points”, what each part of the brain controls. This is called brain localization. One part might control social skills the other mind control thoughts the other part might control decision making etc. The brain is separated into two hemispheres, the left and the right and this is called brain lateralization. There are theories that certain function are being lateralized and different parts contain different thoughts or actions. 
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