#also this is very simplified so don't come at me with scientific corrections i get enough of that from my supervisor bye

[witchmd13]

this is going to be a long post and I'm not sure anyone who follows me really watches severance let alone is interested in the neuroscientific basis of the show, but having been doing research on memory for almost 3 years now, severance is both horrifying and interesting to me and I have to get this out.

one classification of memory is episodic and semantic memory. episodic memory is the memory we use to remember individual events tied to a time and place. in the brain, a structure called the hippocampus controls it. semantic memory on the other hand, is the memory we use to recall skills, facts and concepts and it's controlled by our neocortex (basically the cerebral cortex, the outer shell of our brains).

the way I understand it, severance seems to work by tying the formation of episodic memories to a certain place (this is also evident by the site of implantation of the chip which is deep within the brain, not on the surface where the cortex is. it's not clearly shown that they were implanting it inside the hippocampus or around it, but from the images they showed, I think that's where it is placed) and creating a barrier to accessing older episodic memories that were formed before the severance procedure.

now, historically in medicine, we have seen cases of patients where they had damage to their hippocampi, or had them removed during some procedure or other, and in the process lost their ability to form episodic memory all together. these patients can't form new memories and/or remember past memories, but their skills that they acquired or do acquire later are intact, and the facts they know about the world are still there also. they just can't form new long term memories.

now, we're still way far from understanding exactly how the hippocampus stores episodic memories (we have some sort of understanding but it's a little complicated and it's certainly not complete so I'm not mentioning it here), so, no severance as a medical procedure is still pure sci-fi, but the idea of it is fascinating to me.

In my research, I work on something called chemobrain, which is a term coined by cancer patients who have had chemo where they reported experiencing concentration and memory problems afterwards. for years it was assumed that chemobrain was just psychological phenomena, but recent research discovered otherwise. it is actually a very real damage to the brain caused by chemotherapy, or certain types of it to be more accurate. now we call it chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment. anyway, it turns out that those types of chemotherapy actually damage areas in the hippocampus (among others in the brain) and causes damage to episodic memory.

these chemotherapies kill nerve cells and literally target synapses in the hippocampus making the connections between cells weaker. they hypothetically do what the severance procedure does.

according to research, chemobrain can last from months to years, but in a lot of cases it gradually gets better. in my work we're trying to find medications that can reverse this damage in a shorter period of time. so who knows maybe I'll find a medication that will help helly, mark, dylan and irv as well

it's just fascinating to me how we might take this damage and turn it to a switch we can flip whenever someone gets a certain type of stimuli (like entering a new space). it's just ugh i wish the show expanded on the scientific aspects they used.

[mbti-analysis]

hello! i'm 99% sure i'm entp, i asked so many people and took so many tests. plus, I really relate to entps, whenever I read posts i feel like that's totally me. but, I don't know if I'm extrovert. I mean, ALL of my friends say I'm loud and I'm like the clown and weirdo of the group, but with strangers I'm shy. If we're not close, I'm really shy and sometimes I feel a bit intimidated by people my age that i don't know. I know I come off as rude and/or shy to people I'm not close with+

+ and especially people I’m not interested in. All of my friends say “I hate people” and I pretty much relate because I don’t seem to find interesting people. There aren’t people I really admire and want to be close with, at max nice people to chat in the morning before class. But that’s it. I don’t know what to do :/

I say this a lot anyway, so I’ll repeat it again: I think ENTPs are the most introverted of the extroverts, and Ne in itself is the most introverted of the extroverted functions.

And your functions are Ne-Ti-Fe-Si.

Ne-Ti makes a very introverted combination. Ne is your primary function or the one you subconsciously use the most. It’s what comes the most naturally

Ne is all about idea generation and connection and basically how your mind works and interacts with the environment. You have a messy train of thought because you jump from idea to idea very quickly. You’re good at brainstorming, debating, discussion, etc. You go off on tangents a lot, and might have a hard time falling asleep because of it. Moreover, you don’t like interacting with people that aren’t interesting to you because they don’t engage your Ne. 

Now Ti is a pretty self-explanatory function. You interpret information using logic and reason. You think through and make sense of everything, but you don’t always voice it. You know the people who correct everyone with technicalities? You’re not one of them. You’re content just knowing you’re right; you don’t have to prove it. You like research and learning more about topics of interest. That’s a big thing for you: you like to talk about topics of your interest and talk to people who interest you, so you might come off as self-centered.

Now Ne-Ti together means a few things. It means that brainstorming and debates are your thing. You don’t like arguments, rather discussions. You think outside the box, so the “devil’s advocate” role is usually assigned to this type. You can see things from many points of view, so although neither Ne nor Ti is a decision-making function, you make good well-reasoned decisions. It’s just that it’s hard to get you to the point of making a decision because you go back and forth between options a lot. 

Now this is all traditionally introverted stuff, you know? So you feeling more introverted, that’s natural, and that’s half of your question answered.

The other half is this:

Your most extraverted function is Fe. Now Fe is in that third spot which means that it doesn’t act on its own usually. Your Ti-Fe works together, so your Fe  is basically there to supplement and balance out your Ti. This is another reason why you’re not the type to correct people. Fe is basically the part of your personality that doesn’t like confrontation and would rather just do your thing. This is why you don’t voice all your thoughts. Your Fe keeps you in check. The extraverted aspect of this comes in here: you like a positive atmosphere, so you like making jokes and laughing and being at ease. You hate tension and fights; it all seems pointless to you. This is where that laid-back part of your ENTP reputation comes from. Because your Fe is in such a supplementary position, it doesn’t play a very extraverted part.

*Now, not all of this might sound like you, and that’s because a lot of what you said leads me to think that your Fe is a little underdeveloped. The middle two functions in any function stack (yours-Ne-Ti-Fe-Si) are meant to be used in unison. Your first and last functions are counterparts (opposites), as are your middle two functions. Your first and last are so far apart that you don’t hit that balance with them until you’ve very well matured. It’s easier to hit a balance with the middle two, but maybe you usually don’t, so your Ti is much stronger than your Fe.  This would mean that your Fe doesn’t always manage to keep check on your Ti, and you say things before you can classify them as appropriate or not appropriate. It would also be why you’re so shy or intimidated by unfamiliar company. A stronger Fe would make you more accustomed to new people by making small talk and being pleasant. This is the part that would like to get to know people, so you’d automatically look for things that might be interesting about the person instead of just ruling people off as uninteresting and not even wanting to engage them. This sort of exclusivity comes with a either weak Fe or a strong toxic Fe. Yours is probably the first case.

And Si is your weakest function; you don’t use it often, maybe in times of stress or when you don’t know what to do. If you have Si developed, you have to consciously use it to tone down your Ne a bit and keep it in check; ground your out-of-the-box thinking a bit. It’s an experience-based, down-to-earth thinking function, quite the opposite of your dominant Ne. 

Conclusion:

1) The last function is usually weak and underdeveloped, so my advice to everyone is to try to develop it – not to change yourself, per se, just to sort of balance your personality, so you can make better decisions and to develop and mature as a person. If I were you, I’d work on Fe and Si both. Just try to consciously use Fe and consciously try not to come off as rude when you think you are. Go out of your comfort zone, you know. You might like it ‘cause you’d be exercising your Ne more. Use your Si consciously with your Ne too. Instead of always looking outward for ideas or new things to do, ground it inward. Connect your ideas to your own experience. None of this will come naturally; you’ll have to consciously do it to develop it.

2) None of how I interpret ENTP function is particularly extraverted. I mean, the way introversion-extraversion was originally designed was very scientific, and it didn’t have much to do with your interpersonal (social) abilities. Introversion-extraversion within the realms of the Jungian function theory (everything I just said) isn’t about being social/anti-social either. It just says that your dominant subconscious function is external, not internal – ie Ne is about external ideas and brainstorming and outward connections, not internal speculation. That’s what makes Ne introverted, and in MBTI, that’s what gives you the “E” in ENTP. Your dominant function is extraverted, not you. 

Never ever assign any truth or value to the dichotomies of the popularized MBTI because it’s a way of simplifying the Jungian function theory, and all it does is give a name to your type. You need to understand your functions to actually understand it. ENTP in no way means that you’re an extraverted, intuitive, thoughtful/logical, perceptive/nonjudgmental person. ENTP means everything that I just said. I apologize if I got anything wrong about the theory or you though.