Zombies are a pervasive trope in popular culture, from movies to video games, graphic novels and literature. Whilst we fear, or have conflicting feelings about death, there’s a special horror associated with the undead. Many cultures have folklore or legends associated with the dead returning to life. The myth of the zombie originated in Haitian culture, where a person, not alive but not dead either, is enslaved by spells. This was popularised in movies in the mid 20th century, but really entered popular culture with the 1968 film, ‘Night of the Living Dead’.

In this talk, neuroscientist Dr Jenny Lange puts a scientific spin on the zombie genre. We discuss how a fungal infection can turn ants into mindless insect zombies, and the spread of chronic wasting disease in deer, often wrongly referred to in the media as zombie deer disease. Could these spread to humans and lead to the zombie apocalypse so often featured in movies? We’ll delve into the different kinds of zombie tropes presented in popular culture – whilst zombies lack consciousness, what areas of the brain would still need to be active and functioning for a zombie to sense its prey? What could drive their hunger for human flesh? How could we cure a zombie outbreak? Join Dr Jenny Lange for a not entirely serious look into the neuroscience of the zombies phenomenon.