Yes, alterations elsewhere could most certainly have an impact on personality and intellect - but certainly a person with severe frontal lobe damage suffers more profound personality changes and working memory deficits than someone who experiences damage elsewhere, correct? I'm reminded of the story of Phineas Gage who had severe injuries to his frontal lobes, and according to people who encountered him displayed poor judgment/impulsivity for the rest of his days. There have been challenges to these reports, with some saying that Phineas Gage was very functional even after the accident.
I'm inclined to believe that the truth is somewhere between "Severely disabled" and "Perfectly functional," which means some aspects of reports about his personality changes are accurate.
Yep, that seems fair to say. Must note that it seems that the damage that Phineas endured was much more substantial.
Considering the complexity of personality and behavior and our lack of understanding of their representation in the brain, I wonder how far we would get than this type of anecdotal evidence if given the change to investigate. Personality tests are mostly, if not completely useless.
