Psychology 101: Intro to Psychology

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When railroad worker Phineas Gage's brain was injured in 1848, his emotions completely changed. Find out what parts of the brain affect your emotional intelligence and what made Phineas go from happy-go-lucky guy to crabby curmudgeon.

Did you know that our brains are involved in our experiences of emotion? In light of that, how do you suppose you would feel, emotionally, if you were to survive having a shaft of metal thrust through your head? Because that's precisely what happened in 1848, when a railroad foreman named Phineas Gage suffered a horrible accident. It happened when he was packing gunpowder into a rock. The gunpowder was accidentally ignited, which caused the iron rod with which he had been packing the gunpowder to be shot into the air and propelled through his head. It entered around his cheekbone, hit his eye, and exited through the top of his skull.

Although you might suspect that such an injury would kill a person, remarkably, though, Gage survived! Here he is after the accident, holding the offending iron rod. In fact, Gage lived for more than a decade after the accident. Again, it happened in 1848, whereas he did not die until 1860. Actually, soon after it happened, Gage seemed to be doing more than just surviving; he seemed to be doing unexpectedly well. His memory was intact; the accident had not damaged it. And he retained basic abilities, such as walking and talking.

But the accident had drastically altered his personality. Before, he had been a likeable guy; after, he was suddenly disagreeable, quick to anger, and irresponsible. Of course, it's possible that the differences in his personality surrounding the accident have been exaggerated, both during Gage's lifetime and long after. But, at least to some extent, the changes were probably real, and not simply because it left him feeling embittered, or something like that. You see, Gage had certainly suffered damage to his frontal lobes, which is an area of the brain that helps to regulate the experience of emotion. In academic terms, an emotion can be defined as an affective state, often accompanied by specific physiological characteristics, with the power to impact thoughts and behaviors. Indeed, Gage could still walk and talk, think and remember. But as you've probably gathered from his story, through the accident he might have lost some of his emotional intelligence. In case you've never heard that term, emotional intelligence refers to the abilities to recognize and to manage emotions.

As Gage's story indicates, certain parts of the brain are involved with emotion. Do you remember what part of the brain Gage's accident had damaged? The rod injured at least part of his frontal lobes, which number among the regulating parts. Additionally, in each of the brain's two hemispheres, there's a part called the amygdala. Some people say that the amygdala is shaped like an almond; and, the word 'amygdala' even derives from 'almond' in Greek.

Studies show that people with brain injuries to these areas of the brain have diminished fear responses. For example, consider the case of a grown woman with brain damage to her amygdala. Scientists have kept her identity confidential by calling her 'SM.' Now, SM isn't totally devoid of emotion. She shows things such as happiness and sadness just as most people do. But she is, quite literally, fearless. You might be inclined to think this would be a good thing. Certainly I personally am afraid of things I'd prefer not to be. But consider this. Years ago, she was reportedly threatened at knifepoint by a man who approached her from a park bench with the words, 'I'm going to cut you.' You'd be scared in this situation, right? Not only was she unfrightened by the potentially life-threatening encounter, but her lack of fear may have gotten her into it in the first place, because she did not avoid this man, even though she herself acknowledged that he looked shady and drugged-out.

These case studies indicate that emotions are important for our well-being. For example, the emotion of fear can keep us safe from dangerous things that might otherwise harm us, like the scary man that threatened SM, and things like snakes or spiders. Somewhat similarly, love for our own children makes us nurture them, even when they're crying in the dead of night.

So, human emotions help to assure human survival. Furthermore, emotions can help us to feel as though we have worthwhile, meaningful lives. For example, they allow us to feel content when we do a good job, surprise when we receive unexpected gifts, and amusement when reading comics.

Still further, expressing emotion can help with nonverbal communication. And they can also help us to create and sustain relationships with others.

Even though the experience of emotion may be both significant and universal across humanity, emotions still remain mysterious. For example, how do physiological characteristics, such as sweaty palms and a racing heart, relate to the emotions of nervousness and fear? Do the symptoms cause the emotion, or are we driven by emotion? Or is there some underlying cause? Why do different people have different emotional reactions to the same stimulus? Do we have control, not to mention complete control, over our emotions? Psychologists who study emotion try to answer these questions, and more.

So, here's what you've learned: emotions are important not only for our survival, but also for our quality of life. Certain parts of the brain, especially the frontal lobes and amygdala, help to regulate emotion. Finally, although emotions involve several components - including physiological arousal and our conscious experience of emotion - several theories exist about how these various components relate.