ARTICLE: "The Neuropsychology of Zombies" by Christopher Shea

Well, you missed it, but on Monday night, Science on the Screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre was showing Night of the Living Dead, preceded by a talk by Dr. Steven Schlozman, a psychiatry professor/zombie nut.

The gist of the talk centers on the ways in which Romero (and his fellow zombie filmmakers*) show their understanding of the workings of the human brain.

Anyway, the article brings up some interesting observations:

"And that's the crux of one of Schlozman's arguments: The story changes as the situation grows grimmer. Here, the professor draws on "mirror neuron" theory, which holds that humans are hard-wired to reflect the psychological states of the people around them. (Show a test subject a short film of a face displaying disgust, or pleasure, and regions of the brain associated with those feelings activate in the subject.)"

It almost convinces me that I could understand neuropsychology. But, of course, only if there are zombies involved.

[READ THE ARTICLE HERE.]

*These are--sadly--filmmakers who make films about zombies, not filmmakers who are themselves undead.