HOW NEUROSCIENTISTS SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

written by Jarrod Hicks

Given that today is Halloween, there's a good chance you may come across a zombie or two...

Of course, it’s also only a matter of time before the zombie apocalypse. So, I thought I would share some tips for surviving the zombie apocalypse.

1) TALKING & REASONING WITH ZOMBIES IS USELESS 
Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area are two brain regions that are involved in speech production and speech comprehension. Damage to either of these areas can result in language deficits known as aphasia.

   

It turns out that zombie brains actually have quite a bit of atrophy to both of these regions, explaining their inability to communicate. So, THINK AGAIN BEFORE TRYING TO PLEAD WITH A ZOMBIE.


2) RUN FASTER THAN YOUR FRIENDS 
The cerebellum is a brain region involved in motor coordination and balance. Damage to the cerebellum can result in movement disorders broadly known as ataxia. Most zombies lack the entire cerebellum, meaning they have slow, uncoordinated movements. However, we’ve recently seen the emergence of a new type of zombie that is fast-moving and more coordinated. These zombies have a nearly intact cerebellum with only minor atrophy. Regardless of which type of zombie you encounter, RUN FAST AND CLIMB!

Also remember, you don’t really have to outrun zombies; you just have to outrun your friends.

3) HIDE EARLY & OFTEN 
Lesions to a brain region called the hippocampus, can result in anterograde amnesia, the inability to form new memories.

Like famous patients Henry Molaison and Clive Wearing, zombies too have damage to the hippocampus and WILL FORGET ABOUT YOU IF YOU HIDE FOR LONG ENOUGH.

4) DISTRACTION DISTRACTION DISTRACTION 
A portion of the parietal lobe, shown in green below, is part of the dorsal stream of visual processing. This pathway, often called the “where” pathway, is involved in processing the spatial location of objects. Zombies are easily distracted because they have bilateral damage to the parietal lobe.

In humans, damage to the posterior parietal lobe can result in Balint’s Syndrome.

Just make sure to CREATE A DISTRACTION AND GET AWAY.

Use these tips and you can survive the zombie apocalypse like a neuroscientist. You’re welcome. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, zombies are not real... This post was inspired by Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?: A Neuroscientific View of the Zombie Brain by Timothy Verstynen and Bradley Voytek. Additionally, content was drawn from their blogs (here and here). All images, gifs, and videos were taken from the Internet and do not belong to me or the creators of this blog.