Walking Corpse Syndrome

Hello Zombiology Students and a warm welcome to the ZomBlog.

Today we're looking at Walking Corpse Syndrome, also known as Cotard's Syndrome. This rare mental condition causes people to believe they are dead, putrefying and missing internal organs - essentially Zombieism of the mind.

You have a medical licence right?

Cotard's Syndrome takes its name from French Neurologist Jules Cotard who encountered a patient named, Mademoiselle X (perhaps a relation of Professor X). Mademoiselle X claimed to have no brain, no nerves, no chest, no stomach, and no intestines. She also believed she was immortal and therefore didn't need to eat. She died of starvation.

"I ain't related to no French Bird Bro. They don't even have a word for entrepreneur."

The condition is usually found in patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia - leading many Doctors to see it as a component of these illnesses.

More recently a patient, known only as Graham, was identified with the syndrome. Graham believed his brain had died. Neurologists Adam Zeman at the University of Exeter, UK, and Steven Laureys at the University of Liège in Belgium, met with Graham and took scans of his brain. The type of scan they carried out is called positron emission tomography (PET) and is used to produce detailed, three-dimensional images of the inside of the body. Before being scanned the patient has a radioactive substance passed into their body. The substance gives off gamma waves (a type of radiation) that can be detected by the scanner. The scans taken of Graham were the first ever conducted on someone with Cotard's Syndrome.

A PET Scan. Or maybe this is a CAT Scan. I get them confused.

What they discovered was amazing. The activity in certain areas of his brain was so low it was comparable to someone in a vegetative state.

Laureys explained,

I've been analysing PET scans for 15 years and I've never seen anyone who was on his feet, who was interacting with people, with such an abnormal scan result. Graham's brain function resembles that of someone during anaesthesia or sleep. Seeing this pattern in someone who is awake is quite unique to my knowledge.

Adam Zeman continued, "It seems plausible that the reduced metabolism was giving him this altered experience of the world, and affecting his ability to reason about it."

The condition caused Graham to completely withdraw into himself. He found no pleasure in anything, he stopped eating, speaking and even brushing his teeth. This caused his teeth to turn black, further compounding his feelings that he was dead.

After lengthy psychotherapy and drug treatment Graham gradually recovered. There have been reports that using antidepressants, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers combined with traditional talking therapies have helped those who suffer from the illness.

With being such a rare condition, research into this mysterious syndrome is very limited. Could it be that when Zombies do appear the disease affecting them will induce such a syndrome? Only time will tell.

Keep up your studies and join me again next time for more science behind the undead here on the ZomBlog.

Best wishes,

Doctor Austin

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep, is a Theoretical Zombiologist and Head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland UK.

Left: Doctor Austin Right: HRH The Queen

A Fission of Zombies

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Greetings Zombiology Students,

My inbox is getting fuller than my trousers after a Walking Dead marathon. So here’s another ZomBlog answering your zombie science questions.

I got an email from Leigh who asked, “What would you think to be the least likely theory of zombies?”

Zombiology students out there will be aware that many natural and manmade factors are blamed for zombie outbreaks in fiction. Whether it’s a genetically modified virus, a minute nanobot, or a chemical found in a fish, Hollywood is always there to distort the scientific truth behind everything, to give us a plausible, or just fresh, reason for zombies taking over the Earth.

We're not running out of zombie film ideas ... honest

Regular readers will know my favourite zombie film is George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (in black & white only). I watch it every day, and twice on a Saturday, for a wee treat. Whilst not stated explicitly, it is implied that Radiation is the cause of the zombie outbreak.

Radiation is energy that travels across space in the form of waves or high-speed particles. A high enough blast of this energy can ionize atoms. Atoms are found in human cells, so this ionization can cause serious damage to them, potentially resulting in conditions like cancer.

The vast majority of background radiation we encounter occurs naturally. Cosmic rays reach us from space, gas is emitted from rocks in the ground … in fact radiation is pretty much everywhere you can think of.

Everywhere.

We humans are of course working hard every year, building nuclear power stations, nuclear weapons, using X-rays … generally trying our dandiest to add to radiation levels. Sadly, despite our best efforts, man-made sources still only account for 15% of all the radiation we are exposed to. It mainly reaches us through medical X-rays and airport security checks.

Now, would you jump up and down for me, for security reasons.

Every day thousands of staff work in these environments, and whilst it may look like Heathrow’s Terminal Five is a scene choreographed by Mr Romero, airport staff don’t actually appear to be turning radioactive. Or into zombies. Yet.

In situations where much stronger doses of radiation are applied we can begin to get a measure of its effect. America used atomic bombs against the Japanese in World War II. Modified bomber planes dropped two bombs that were the equivalent of 20,000 tonnes of TNT onto the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The destruction they caused is difficult to imagine. Unless you’re Michael Bay.

I can imagine any explosion. Even with one arm tied behind my back, by another explosion.

Almost 2,000 feet above the city of Hiroshima, the bomb exploded. What was once a thriving city was now a burning crater. Thousands were killed instantly and thousands more slowly died of radiation sickness. The main causes of death during a nuclear blast are thermal burns, brought about as a result of infrared radiation, and fatal injuries caused by falling structures. Thermal burns are usually only visible on the side of the patient exposed to the blast itself. Patients might also exhibit beta and gamma burns after a radioactive attack.

Hollywood's idea of the effect of gamma radiation on humans. No Hollywood. Bad Hollywood.

Those who survive the initial blast may go on to develop radiation sickness. Its symptoms include: nausea, vomiting, hair loss, organ failure, weakness and death. The exact selection of symptoms you develop is heavily dependent on what level of radiation dose you have been subjected to.

A woman with radiation sickness.

Radiation, when used as a weapon, definitely paints the kind of apocalyptic picture we’d expect from a zombie film. The bombings of World War II did create burning wastelands where disfigured people stumbled around confused and uttering painful sounds. Yet this is not quite the scenario we seek in terms of a Zombieism outbreak. Aside from the aesthetic qualities left by the blast, radiation exposure and radiation sickness just don’t provide the symptoms we are searching for.

This is not, however, the only way radiation can mess with us humans. What occurred with the Simpsons’ three-eyed fish can also happen to us; we can become mutated. In reality mutation doesn’t occur in quite the same way as it is portrayed in the movies. Also, in real life mutations the effects are slower and much less outwardly noticeable. They are usually heredity, meaning they are passed on to the children of those affected.

The primary condition found in abundance after nuclear accidents or attacks is cancer. This field of research is under considerable debate at the time of writing and more about the long-term effects of radiation exposure is bound to develop over the next few years.

Ultimately radiation has failed to provide the required symptoms needed for Zombieism. This may be because its effects are often uncoordinated. All areas of the body can be hit in different ways by radiation, whereas we are seeking something with the precision skills to mainly go for the brain.

So to answer your question Leigh, I would say Radiation is the least likely factor to result in the creation of zombies.

Sorry Mr. Romero. Sir. God?

I hope you enjoyed your answer Leigh, and if any of you out there want to know anything about the real science behind zombies, do send your questions in to info@zombiescience.co.uk or post them on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/zombiescience).

Best wishes,

Doctor Austin

Doctor Austin ZITS BSz MSz DPep, is a Theoretical Zombiologist and Head of the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland UK.  

For even more Zombie Science pick up the official Zombie Science book on Amazon now.