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Phineas Gage and the important role of the brain

A 19th-century accident led us to better understand the brain’s role.

By Marc Wilson In Psychology

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22nd September, 2012
We tend to take for granted that heads are important and head injuries to be avoided. These are just two reasons the idea of whacking (or drilling) holes in our heads seems nuts. Despite this, there is historical evidence of the practice, and even today some people still advocate for the therapeutic benefits of trepanation. These days, the discipline of neuroscience is focused on understanding brains and, like lay people, neuroscientists know brains are important for making us work. But this is not to say we have always considered brains the driver of human behaviour or the seat of the intellect. ...

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