ABSTRACT
Many individuals living in the Western hemisphere today have either grown up reading or raised their children reading the classic works of Roald Dahl. Few are aware, though, that the famed author had sustained a severe head injury when his plane crashed while on active duty in World War II; an injury that may have ultimately been responsible for his trademark sense of humor. Previously reported as somewhat shy and easily embarrassed prior to his injury, Dahl later demonstrated a drop in inhibitions, a significant boost in confidence, and an unusual change to a darker sense of humor. He described even harboring a deep desire to shock people with the dramatic or unexpected. In a direct parallel to Phineas Gage and other cases, Dahl experienced deficits in inhibition, and greater difficulties in self-regulation and impulse control after his injury. Dahl’s case, however, placed much greater emphasis on the emotional aspects of his symptoms: the change in his sense of humor, difficulty regulating his emotions, and a change in what is deemed ‘appropriate’ to a particular situation, the latter symptom of which is commonly seen in psychotic disorders. This provides some unique insight into the possibility of a traumatic injury expanding an individual’s abilities rather than limiting them, by releasing creativity and allowing the mind to freely operate on its own without the constraints of inhibition. Further, Dahl’s experiences not only with his own injury, but with those of his family, inspired him to make major contributions to medical science by participating in the development of a special valve to relieve intracranial pressure in hydrocephalus and advocate for the prevention of measles. Today, his family and admirers continue on his legacy through the Roald Dahl Marvelous Children’s Charity in the UK.
