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So I've seen multiple zombie fiction works explaining zombies by saying that the zombie pathogen destroys most human brain functions but leaves behind the cerebellum and the brain stem, so the zombies are driven by instinct alone. I would like to use this for my zombie story too because it makes killing them harder! Or at least before everyone figures out that you need to hit a specific spot to put down the undead.

But the senses (smell, sight, hearing) are controlled by the cerebrum if I recall correctly, and without its senses the zombie won't be able to find people to eat! aww.

Also I've read about this thing they had before where they would destroy the frontal lobes connection with the rest of the brain in mentally ill patients in an effort to cure their insanity and such. It was a really bad idea and some people ended up paralyzed. The motor cortex or whatever is in the frontal lobe too and its name suggests that it controls movement, so without the cerebrum I don't even know how the zombies would even move at all!

But I have seen articles that claim frogs with only the brain stem left can still react to the environment, swimming in water and following light sources, and chickens with heads chopped off can still run around aimlessly before they drop dead, but I'm pretty sure the human brain has a different structure and therefore will work differently. (I can't provide the sources for these because I forgot where I found them)

I'm thinking about jellyfish because they can still catch prey and stuff even though they live on reflexes alone. Not sure if something like that would work on zombies though.

Anyways the goal is to provide a scientific explanation for how zombies can

  1. Follow light sources, loud noises, and humans nearby via shambling
  2. Try to grab and chomp on humans if they are within the zombies reach

with their cerebrum destroyed, leaving behind only the brain stem and the cerebellum.

Thanks for your time! Sorry for the wall of text.

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4 Answers 4

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Nanobots

One flaw I feel your idea has is that you're saying science-based, but also that you have to hit a specific spot to kill the zombies. If they're really just humans with a pathogen + brain damage, though, then they'll still die in all the regular human ways, like blood loss or organ failure.

If you're willing to go with a bit of science fiction, though, you could just say it's nanobots. Medical nanobots gone haywire? Perhaps an AI was commanded to "never allow harm to a human being" and it got a little bit of the wrong idea and decided that lobotomizing humans and running them via nanobot swarms was the best way to keep them safe. However it started, your zombies are run by nanobots.

The nanobots don't completely take over brain functions. As you say, they leave human instincts intact (the AI has reasoned that they are still human, pretty much, with the intact cerebellum and brain stem. Their sudden loss of interest in skydiving and surfing is an improvement and the prime directive is fulfilled! Hooray!). They also either very specifically leave sensory inputs intact or they supply it themselves. The nanobots may also be responsible for moving through the body, taking on the job normally done by blood, as well as self-replication (which they gather materials for by getting the zombie to eat. They'd like to eat a big metal car, really, but zombies can't tear apart metal cars. They can tear apart flesh though. Good old teeth.)

You can gun down a zombie and it will eventually get back up, once the nanobots have had some time to replicate themselves and take over damaged areas.

They only give up if you shoot the brain stem because at that point the body is "no longer human" by nanobot parameters and they cease functioning.

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  • $\begingroup$ I've considered using nanobots for my story before, because someone on this very site stated the only way for "undead" zombies to happen scientifically (What I want) is for nanobots to form new neural pathways in the brain. The problem is that the materials I want the nanobots to use for "reproduction" is what human's teeth and nails are made of, so I am worried that too much nanobots mean that the zombies teeth, hair and nails will fall out, making them both harmless and ugly. Also nanobots can be hacked. This was a good suggestion though and I will keep it in mind as a last resort thingy $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 4:08
  • $\begingroup$ I've haven't specified this, but I was thinking something more like a engineered xenotolerant/anerobic microorganism that targets humans only. It destroys the organ functions of the human body but preserves the corpse to use as a sort of shell, like a vehicle to carry the disease around or something, turning the victims into... zombies. So technically you could mutaliate them so badly that they aren't able to move anymore, but part of the brain is still active so they are basically just pernamantly paralyzed. The only way to destroy them for real is to get the brain stem/cerebellum. $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 4:15
  • $\begingroup$ Eh, I guess I don't have other options. This one will do $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 30, 2022 at 2:52
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Have you ever heard that a snake head can bite even after it has been severed from the body? Well, it's not a figure of speech, it can happen. Same with fishes, they can still bite after they are dead, so one needs to be careful when handling them, if they have sharp teeth.

On the other hand, it is also well know the case of the chicken which survived quite some time with its head cut off. And my mother had a similar experience, with a decapitated chicken raising from the bowl where it was put before being butchered.

Therefore it is very possible that a zombie can show some sort of activity and react to external stimuli, without any "conscious" decision behind it.

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  • $\begingroup$ Ahhh yes I've heard about the snakes and fishes! But still, I need more specified answers with details to explain the zombies. $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 24, 2022 at 9:43
  • $\begingroup$ Maybe I didin't state my question correctly? If that's the case you could tell me and I would edit it $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 24, 2022 at 9:48
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    $\begingroup$ since zombies are fictional creatures, you can't really get a science based explanation. Just go with the evidence that sometimes even living creatures show zombie-like traits... $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Commented Dec 24, 2022 at 9:49
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    $\begingroup$ the chicken had some brain left and when he got sliced it missed some place that would cause it to bleed out fast. Also zombies don't have neurological activity outside of the brain, I don't really know what you're trying to say $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 24, 2022 at 10:14
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    $\begingroup$ The chicken was fed because its owner gave it some kind of liquid mixture as food, it probably would have died otherwise $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 24, 2022 at 10:15
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Remote control

Zombie brains are problematic. An understatement. Motor function in humans is indeed in the cerebrum. Other problematic things: rotten eyes and ears do not work well. Much sensory processing occurs in the cerebrum. The cerebellum and brain stem handles coordination and some primitive things like automatic respiration.

Yes, yes, But we want shambling zombies! I am thinking about episode 1 from Love Death and Robots: Sonnie's Edge. Man I hate to spoil it if people have not seen it. Quit reading if you dig monsters fighting monsters and weird bio tech. https://lovedeathrobots.fandom.com/wiki/Season_1#Sonnie's_Edge

The linked clip is the spoiler - pretty gruesome. Animated but still gruesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XulpAQCLZA

In any case - destroying the zombie cerebrum does not stop them. The characters figure that out. Maybe they do experiments! The intelligence driving the zombie is somewhere else. The link between the zombie body and that intelligence is in the brainstem. Usually. Some zombie bodies have redundant links. Your characters figure that out too - the hard way. As regards that intelligence and its location and motives; another question to figure out.

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  • $\begingroup$ Errr I don't have access to Youtube in my region, and the wiki is pretty vague for me when describing the events of the episode you are talking about. Could you explain it to me verbally please? $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 4:19
  • $\begingroup$ OK. Monsters fight in the arena. Humans are jacked into them and controlling them. Sonnie's monster is a very good fighter. Sonnie was beat badly some months back and so has something to prove. At the end of the episode she is tricked and tortured by a hitgirl and hitgirl's gangster boss shows up. Sonnie gets her head stomped. She does not die. Head stomped flat and still does not die. She is not in her old body which was damaged beyond repair in the earlier beating. She is in the monster, remote controlling the human body. That is her edge. And the monster that she is shows up. $\endgroup$
    – Willk
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 4:33
  • $\begingroup$ That is... bizarre and cool at the same time. But if there were to be a full out zombopocalypse it's kinda hard to imagine how remote control would work. $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 4:35
  • $\begingroup$ @Hi0401 - that is where the fiction comes in! Is it one intelligence controlling them all? Where is it? What is it? $\endgroup$
    – Willk
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 4:51
  • $\begingroup$ I was aiming for more of a apocalyptic feel, where regular people with regular equipment try their best to survive in a regular zombopocalypse. Still I guess I could combine this with the nanobot one and you get a squad of survivors trying to fight an AI overlord that has taken over the world via zombies, sounds fun. I will save this for later in case I change my mind and try to aim for another atmosphere $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 5:09
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Reflexes occur through reflex arcs, many of which don't go all the way to the brain. Reflexes also influence normal walking motion and other everyday behaviors.

What if the zombie virus enhanced reflex function? It seems that could achieve the basic walking gait, though reflexes probably aren't enough for getting back up after falling down. But they could always continue by crawling.

For seeking prey, a few high-function zombies could lead a flock of brain-dead ones. Flocking behavior doesn't need much to occur - any sense that the zombies could use to estimate distance from each other, such as flailing their hands about, would be enough.

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  • $\begingroup$ Enhance how? I like how you are thinking though $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 9:21
  • $\begingroup$ And that would also explain the herds! Getting closer $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 9:21
  • $\begingroup$ Reflexes are direct reactions, they don't do action selection like when facing a log on the ground when the zombie has to decide whether it needs hands to navigate the obstacle or can just step over it. I.e. turning towards a noise or smell could be a reflex, but actually getting up, walking over (while avoiding collision with other zombies) and taking a bite would require at least basic cerebral functions I suspect. $\endgroup$
    – toolforger
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 10:02
  • $\begingroup$ That's what I was thinking just now. Sigh... zombies could take over humanity if only they were smart enough. $\endgroup$
    – Hi0401
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 10:20
  • $\begingroup$ @Hi0401 Maybe you'll need to change the zombie pathogen to a small but smart alien creature, that just takes control of the body to wreak havoc. (I agree that it becomes a different genre then :) $\endgroup$
    – jpa
    Commented Dec 25, 2022 at 13:54

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