Acquired Sociopathy

In this episode of Is This the Norm?, hosts Rebecca, Heather, and Lora explore the concept of acquired sociopathy — antisocial behavior caused by damage to the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe. Using the famous 1848 case of Phineas Gage, a railroad foreman who survived an iron rod blasting through his skull and emerged with his intellect intact but his personality dramatically altered, they explain how this part of the brain governs impulse control, social judgment, and emotional regulation rather than cognitive ability. Sources: Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works Johns Hopkins Medicine Year: 2025 Container: Johns Hopkins Medicine Publisher: Johns Hopkins Medicine URL: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain "No longer Gage": an iron bar through the head K. O'Driscoll, J. P. Leach Year: 1998 Container: BMJ Volume: 317 Issue: 7174 Page: 1673-1674 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.317.7174.1673a URL: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1114479/ Filho, Ricardo Vieira Teles. “Phineas Gage’s Great Legacy.” Dementia & Neuropsychologia, vol. 14, no. 4, 2020, pp. 419–421, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7735047/, https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642020dn14-040013. Mendez, Mario. “The Unique Predisposition to Criminal Violations in Frontotemporal Dementia.” Jaapl.org, 2025, jaapl.org/content/38/3/318.