Where Did The Image Of The 'Neuron Activation' Monkey Come From? The Origin Of The 'Monkey Sees Action' Meme Explained

Some textbook-style science diagrams are just begging to be turned into a meme. Whether it's the cross-section of a human mind as seen in "Why You So Quiet? What's On Your Mind?" or the "Stimulus Screen Monkey," there are many examples of this memetic phenomenon from over the years.

The "Neuron Activation" meme is one such example, with the added bonus of featuring a monkey eating a banana.

The Neuron Activation image is an exploitable meme described by its creator as a science diagram that looks just like a quintessential shitpost, a statement that rings ever truer through the various iterations of the meme that have been shared online since it first appeared in 2019.

Here's a recap of what the monkey image is meant to portray, and how it is used in meme culture today.

Where Did The 'Neuron Activation' Image Come From?

The diagram showing a wide-eyed monkey looking at another monkey eating a banana is presumably sourced from a scientific paper about mirror neurons, although the exact origin of the diagram is presently unknown.

The earliest use of the image online is a 2016 article titled, "Mind Games via Mirror Neurons," written by video game writer Celia Wagar on her blog.

However, the image only became a meme after FunnyJunk user mranldestroyer posted an abridged version of the diagram, this time showing it printed out in a textbook. This new version of the meme became the template for subsequent edits in the early 2020s as the format spread online.

How Did The 'Neuron Activation' Image Become A Meme?

The meme didn't get picked up by internet users until early February 2020 when it saw several viral reposts on Instagram and Twitter / X. Many early iterations of the meme saw Impact Font style text superimposed onto it, such as one posted by Twitter user @boomer.jim and another posted by a Twitter account revolving around goofy-looking science diagrams.

A few months later, the meme started receiving more dramatic edits, such as one posted by Twitter user @orangechimps in which the banana-eating monkey is labeled as an e-girl and another where he is replaced entirely by Hololive VTuber and streamer Inugami Korone

What Are Some More 'Neuron Activation' Memes?

For the full history of Neuron Activation, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.