Hungry and angry: could we survive a zombie apocalypse?
Published Online: 15 December 2014
Article Info
“The
brain is a pretty complicated piece of goop.” Words that you might not
expect from a neuroscientist, but an accurate statement nonetheless.
When two members of the Zombie Research Society
came up with a brainy idea to write a book in preparation for the
coming zombie apocalypse, you might be tempted to dismiss it as cult
fantasy—topical, entertaining, frightening even, but not serious,
surely?
In Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? the
zombie phenomenon is studied in depth. Psychological evaluation and
neuroscientific principles are applied to analyse the brain of the
walking dead. Authors Timothy Verstynen, Department of Psychology and
the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at Carnegie Mellon
University (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), and Bradley Voytek, University of
California, San Diego (CA, USA), are self-confessed zombie nerds, and
experts in brain cognition. What they have created is a satirical but
oddly plausible and engaging investigation that leads to a diagnosis of
zombism as a neurological disorder called consciousness deficit
hypoactivity disorder (CDHD). CDHD is an affliction caused by starvation
of oxygen and nutrients to the brain (essentially brain damage) with
the speed of the zombification process (time-to-resurrection)
determining the rapidity and agility of the awakened zombie. How they
reached this conclusion is delivered in bite-size chunks of deductive
reasoning.
Because they do not assume a working knowledge
of the brain, the authors zip through a fairly rudimentary lesson on
brain parts, brain functions, and cognitive processes, but always refer
back to the zombie, and the parallels drawn between the human brain and
the damaged brain of the zombie. A substantial portion of content is
technical, and is translated with metaphor and analogy for the layperson
(usually recreating a situation with you and the ravenous zombie).
However, for those with some interest in the brain, this book undeniably
provides a deeper understanding of zombies through playful linguistic
interactions with the reader. Voytek and Verstynen are patient and
thorough teachers, and inclusive in this process with an ingenious touch
of conscious nerdy sophistication.
The book breaks down
areas of relevant interest: sleeping and waking; which neural systems
control movement; what is the nature of hunger and anger (the two most
visible traits of the zombie); how we speak and how we are understood;
facial recognition; voluntary and involuntary control; and memory.
Zombies can be friends, family, neighbours—we recognise them, but they
have no emotional connection to us anymore, we are nothing but meat.
This is a hard fact to swallow, described perfectly by Verstynen and
Voytek; “As a human with a loved one who has just turned into a zombie,
it can sometimes be difficult to understand that this bloody, drooling,
groaning beast lumbering toward you will not recognise you as the person
she once loved. No matter how long you have known her, once she has
turned into an undead walker that spark of recognition will never again
appear in her eyes—ever.” The hypothesis drawn is that zombies no longer
possess facial perception abilities. As seen in Shaun of the Dead
(one of the many movies alluded to in the book), one survival method
might be to act like a zombie—moaning, drooling, and ghoulish. This
would lead us to suppose that zombies use other clues, such as sound and
movement to differentiate zombies from non-zombies, and that “one
component of the zombie syndrome is acquired prosopagnosia”; damaged
functioning of the ventral visual stream.
Then there is
the insatiable hunger and all-consuming rage. The authors compare this
abnormal behaviour to the stimulus driven and impulsive–reactive
behaviour of a primitive being. Thus, they conclude that the
orbitofrontal cortex is dysfunctioning; the limbic system is too
dominant; the amygdala, hypothalamus, and thalamus are overactive; and
the hormonal system is massively disturbed. As for the appetite, zombies
just don't feel full—the neurons that process leptin signals from the
gut are not doing their job. These, and many more evidence-based
hypotheses, supported by what science has already discovered, are the
thrust of this project. Through popular culture, neuroscience becomes
more interesting, more relevant, and not so esoteric.
The
book wades through a lot of information, and with an enthusiastic
stride, Verstynen's and Vortek's excitement and passion for their topic
is infectious. The illustrations resemble a cult-comic book style, and
are not immediately helpful as visual tools, but they are fun. And fun
is exactly how I would describe the reality of this book. If you really
do believe in an imminent zombie apocalypse you could increase your
chances of survival, and if you don't, you can enjoy imagining one. In
keeping with a tongue-in-cheek flair, hopefully Verstynen and Voytek
will be successful in securing a grant to research the coming zombie
apocalypse, and then we can all sleep more soundly at night (without
dreaming of undead sheep).
