#brain stuff

[dizzyhslightlyvoided]

(via op)

Some of my favourite fan-works are the ones where it's not initially obvious that they're fan-works. You'll be reading a grindingly realistic depiction of the protagonist's minimum wage service industry job and struggles with gender dysphoria and clinical depression, then thirty-five pages in Pikachu shows up.

[actualshonenprotagonist]

"Don't ask me that, Parker. Because if you ask me, I'll tell you. So please don't ask me."

I'm getting the sense that Eliot has an uncomfortable habit of doing what he's told.

[sparklemaia]

I'm two full weeks into comic book school now (spoilers: it is E V E R Y T H I N G) but here's a lil journal comic about the move from west coast to east coast I drew a coupla weeks ago 🌕

if you wanna see art from life at Comic Book School (omg) plus early access to comics like this, you can sign up (it is free!) for my substack, which will send emails full of my drawings right to your very own inbox!! (there's also a $5/mo option to get Extra Secret Content but like 80% of my posts are free and publicly available because ily)

[purplerebel101]

So I had a thought...what if Robotnik made Stone's motorbike. Believing that out of all the bikes that exist, they aren't suited for missions he wants to send Stone on (and that Stone deserves only the best. Aka Robotnik tech certified). So he goes out of his way to make Stone a bike.

So, Stone makes Robotnik's outfits, Robotnik makes Stone's tech.

[victusinveritas]

I believe this is an accurate and concise summary of our present understanding of neurochemistry

[calcium-supplement]

god fucking dammit /neu/pos

i need to stim way more and way harder.

i just got off therapy appt and realized during it when talking about how dysregulated i am so much of the time, all of the brain hyperactivity and thought hyperconnectedness, that oh man a big part of this is my brain is overstimulating itself, and then, when doing some of the somatic physical/breathing exercises, *oh my god this is just stimming and i need to stim*.

i thought i was fully unmasked, i have already been stimming lots, ive ALREADY been doing what (seemed) NATURAL and good and whole, but theres still stuff being held back, still so much, still too much, and i need to fuckin YELL and SIGH and SHAKE and THUD and SWAY and MOVE and AUUUAGAHAGAHAGUHGFHHBGGHHHhhhhh....

so yeah uh. pointing at you the viewer

we have so much consciously and unconsciously holding us back from stimming and acting weird or concerning or irritating or scary to others. you are holding back stimming more than you know. please pleaspleaseplease try and build more opportunities and methods in so you can stim more than you think you need to

[askagamedev]

On the topic of horror, how do you make a grim subject matter feel silly spookville experience instead of actually scary? For example, the Luigi Mansion games, the Disney Haunted Mansion ride, the Medevil games, etc?

The counter to anything terrifying, off-putting, or grim is cuteness. This is done by exaggerating certain features that humans typically find endearing and downplaying the features that humans find alarming, while keeping the visual recognizable. This works with animals.

It works with the undead.

It works with just about anything.

Humans tend to look at a few things to determine cuteness - the main two being proportion and the removal or masking of traits that we find scary or off-putting.

In terms of proportion, we tend to look favorably on things with the proportions of children, babies especially. Babies have much larger heads relative to their bodies, arms, and legs. If the scary thing is proportioned like a baby or child, we are much more likely to look at it favorably rather than with fear. Most examples of something cute based off of something scary use body proportions closer to a child's body (or the animal equivalent) than an adult's.

Second, we reduce the "fear" factor by simplifying, downplaying, or removing any elements of body horror or things that make people feel uneasy. This typically means any markers of injury, illness, pain, danger, or just obviously unnatural. Notice the mask on the left has many wrinkles in the skin, the unnatural white eyes, the off-putting shading, the heavy emphasis on the yellow teeth and blood-red gums, and the realistic proportions that intentionally push this mask into the uncanny valley for the unease it causes. Now consider the right mask - everything is simplified, with smooth lines and the only sharp edges being on the smile itself. Bright colors, a stylized happy face, with no features that could be considered off-putting.

Combine the use of proportions with the removal of things that induce unease in the viewer, and you get something cute and less scary. This also works in reverse - take something normally cute, change the proportions, and add in the things that induce unease in the viewer and it becomes scary. Artists take advantage of our inherent mental associations with these things to make things cute or creepy.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on BlueSky

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[gailyinthedark]

Depression does say funny things sometimes at least. Today it called me "the most pathetic human to ever pathet" so. Silver linings

[chillmachinebroke]

first of all. fuck you tumblr for eating my ask.

second of all. *raises hand as high as it can go* I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE ADA IS STICKING THAT TENTACLE!!!!!

Thank you so much for resending this! I was so mad Tumblr ate it. I had the forethought to save it specifically so I wouldn't lose it and Tumblr laughed in my face.

Anyways, Hiiiii!!! Thank you for being the first person that took me up on my "subtle offer" to ask me about where it's going. The people need to know!

So it is my humble head canon that all Cybertronians have a transformation seam on the roof of their mouths that leads directly into their brain casing. It's typically reserved for medical access only such as for surgeries that require accessing the processor from below instead of through any of the other access hatches that can be opened up.

Most Cybertronians don't even know they have this seam, but Ada knows. She designed Cybertronian frames. She's the one that put the seam there! She designed them with it to make repairs, maintenance, and study of their (the quintesson's) creations easier.

However, she did not anticipate Meter or marrying a freaky little bot that likes it when she drinks charge out of his processor. She can manually open up the seam and use it to access his cranial casing. They use it for various situations ranging from more intense interface scenarios or just because Meter likes it.

@archie-sunshine drew this incredibly helpful visual aid that I am very normal about to show off the mouth seam where Ada's tentacle is going in through his helm vents, wrapping around his processor and exciting through the mouth seam until it pokes out of his mouth.

Also since in your original ask, you asked for any extra Ada fact I wanted to share, I wanted to still share something even though Tumblr bugged out.

So tonight's miscellaneous Ada fact is that she absolutely loves organic life and has visited Earth many times in her travels around the galaxy. She first started visiting long before humans were anywhere close to coming on the scene, but she's visited more frequently since she found out about human kind. She's fascinated by them.

Please keep the asks coming if y'all want to know anything else about Ada! I absolutely love talking about her and I am slowly but surely working through the asks already in my inbox!

[kindred-spirit-93]

gooooooooooooooooood morning!!!

good afternoon!

studying brains atm and i is tired.

also i dont know the first thing about quilting lol but the meme is funny & has a frog

[justkidneying]

Altered States of Consciousness

I'm going to discuss different types of consciousness, most of which result from brain injury, and I'll also talk about inaccuracies I see in writing. Before we start, I need to give some definitions.

Arousal: this isn't the sexual sort, this is the general term that encompasses forebrain activation and the peripheral physiology (heart rate, pupils, etc.).

Alertness: This is a cognitive state that is marked by forebrain cortical activation. You're typically more alert when focusing on a task. Activities that increase alertness don't necessarily increase arousal, but some can (I could ramble on forever, I love this kind of shit).

Awareness: This means that someone is aware of what's going on. They are aware of a stimulus, they understand that they are processing that stimulus, and they are aware of their output towards that stimulus.

Coma

This is a state of low arousal and low response. This person will have an absence of eye, verbal, and motor response. They also will not have a normal sleep-wake cycle, and will usually need respiratory support. Comas can be medically induced or be due to lesions of the reticular activating system (part of the brain that makes us stay alert) or both cerebral hemispheres.

Practical stuff: people in a coma can sometimes breathe on their own, but I've only seen coma patients with a breathing tube, so I feel like it's less common. Also, if someone is in this state, you should look in their eyes and see if they can move them when you tell them to. That way you know they're not just locked in.

Persistent vegetative state (unresponsive wakefulness)

This person has moderate arousal but low awareness. They'll do things, like respond to stimuli, move/open their eyes, grind their teeth, etc. They also don't need respiratory support. If this state lasts longer than a year, it is very unlikely they will ever return to normal. This state can be very difficult for loved ones, as the person seems there, but they really aren't aware, they are just awake but unconscious.

Practical stuff: the reason that this is such a big deal legally (like whether you should pull the plug or not) is because these people can occasionally look at an object, and that may be misinterpreted as recognition. So even though they are doing things, they don't know why or what is happening. It's pretty sad to see families of these patients, especially when they believe that the person will eventually "just wake up."

Minimally conscious state

This person also has moderate arousal, but will be intermittently aware. Occasionally, they will show external indications that they are conscious. This can be responses to instructions, gesturing, some language use or verbalization (words and even phrases), and recognition of objects. Recovery from this state is rare, but it is possible. It can also be a transitional state after a vegetative state.

Practical stuff: this is a newer condition (like the name for it), but is probably one of the more common altered consciousnesses I've seen in media. I'll get into its confusion with catatonia in a second, but they're very different. Anyway, I want to note that for this condition, the patient may say a person's name when they see them, or gesture that they want something, but this is a fluctuating state. Other times they'll be a vegetable.

Catatonic state

This person will appear unresponsive, and this condition is mostly associated with psychosis and schizophrenia. There is no structural brain damage, and there will be none of the pupil/reflex abnormalities seen in other conditions. There will be resistance to movement, such as eye opening and limb placement, that is described as "waxy." This means that the limb will have some resistance as you move it, but will get easier to bend as you go. The person may also stay in uncomfortable postures for a long period of time (catalepsy) and can be positioned that way. They may also perform repetitive motions or echo words that are spoken to them (it's honestly a bit freaky to see this sort of thing).

Practical stuff: the biggest thing is confusing this with minimal consciousness. Catatonic states are characterized usually by their waxiness and relation to psychosis. People who are minimally conscious will still do things, say things, and be somewhat aware. I think 90% of the time, that is what you're looking for. I think the reason we see everyone being catatonic is because saying "she was catatonic" makes sense to people and rolls off the tongue a little better than "she was in a minimally conscious state." So I doubt this will change any time soon, and I don't even care if it does. I just want everyone to know that they're wrong (lol).

Locked-in syndrome

So in this condition, the person is fully aroused and aware, exactly how they would be in a normal awake state. This is because their reticular activating system is intact (the system that allows us to be alert). However, they are completely paralyzed (except for their eyes - due to area of the brain that allows for eye opening and movement being somewhere else). These people are completely normal conscious, but they just cannot move their body (literally one of the worst things I can imagine). Their senses are also still intact. This can be due to a bilateral stroke and severing of the motor tracts in the pons. It is also permanent.

*Cool note: the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was written by a man with locked-in syndrome using his eye movements to dictate it letter by letter.

Writing Tips

The main thing I will say to both writers and clinicians, is to put down the actual symptoms the patient is experiencing, rather than trying to name it a specific thing. So you may say the patient has minimal eyes tracking, is aroused, and can say short phrases rather than saying the patient is in a minimally conscious state. Consciousness is a spectrum, so it's best just to say what the hell the actual patient in question is doing.

Also, dumb it down and lay it out (which works with a lot of medical conditions) because it's easier to write and understand, in my opinion. So don't say "she was catatonic" (because you'd be WRONG), but maybe describe how the character just mumbles words occasionally or sometimes reacts to someone in the room while other times they don't. But, if you wanted to have someone who was actually catatonic, maybe write some weird fucking scene where they can be moved but they'll stay in an awkward position for a while, instead of just saying they're in a catatonic state. Because that means nothing. Describe the signs and symptoms instead of labeling the disease.

I've been reading a book (like a random novel), and they'll say a character has some random medical condition, so I'll have to stop and look it up because even I don't know what it is. So, in my opinion, don't try to sound smart, just say what the fuck you're talking about.

Anyways, thanks for reading my post. I hope to have some more neuro stuff. Maybe I'll talk about the RAS eventually.

[actualshonenprotagonist]

Eliot's role in a con is often that of a regular guy out of his depth and ripe for exploitation. Nate's Very Annoying Guy is already poised to take advantage of the Talented Country Boy, tempting the mark to steal Eliot away for his own use. Eliot is very good at playing this role. Knowing what we know about his past, it may be that he's playing a younger version of himself, unpacking that vulnerability in the safety of the team and using it as a weapon against those who would exploit the character.

[xxrandom1girlxxxx]

I've gotten worse

[ak-schlampe-47]

[victusinveritas]

[longeyelashedtragedy]

My CPTSD ass having to spend 3 1/2 hours today with people I've never met be like