# Stimulus Screen Stimulus Screen, also known as Juice Reward Mechanism Monkey, is a scientific diagram of a rhesus macaque wired to a recording electrode, staring at a monitor, and receiving juice as a reward. The figure began life in a 2011 Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory study on self-motion perception, then went viral in June 2020 after @shack_diesel reposted it on Twitter without context. By late 2022, Instagram remix accounts were photoshopping it into bits about 'literally me syndrome' and the 'YouTube without eating' meme. ## Origin The diagram comes from the Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory's 2011 study 'The neuronal basis of self-motion perception,' which used rhesus monkeys to look at how the brain processes optic flow[4]. A copy of the same illustration showed up on a Reed College biology course page in 2012, inside materials about addiction and reward circuits[1]. Meme use started on June 12, 2020, when Twitter account @shack_diesel reposted the image with no caption; the tweet collected over 23,000 likes and 3,400 retweets[2]. The next day, June 13, a user crossposted it to the /r/ape subreddit under the title 'Watch stimulus screen get dopamine reward,' which climbed past 1,400 upvotes[3]. - **Platform:** Scientific paper (source) / Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2020 ## Overview The gag works because the clinical diagram reads like a brutally honest self-portrait of modern computer use. In the original figure, a rhesus monkey sits in a restraint chair, a cable runs from an implanted electrode to recording gear, and a tube delivers juice when the animal performs correctly on the task shown on the screen[1]. Remixers kept this layout and swapped out the labels, so the 'stimulus screen' became a gaming monitor, a phone, or a TikTok feed, while the juice reward stood in for Red Bull, soda or dopamine itself[4]. Most versions use the raw diagram with a plain caption, with the monkey as a stand-in for the poster. Others photoshop the screen contents, replace the juice container with a branded drink, or redraw the monkey's expression to match whatever hobby the joke targets. The tone is self-deprecating rather than cruel, and KYM lists it as a close cousin of the Neuron Activation format[4]. Some posts also keep the 'watch X get Y' phrasing from the first Reddit crosspost[3]. ## How to Use A typical post keeps the lab diagram and its arrows intact, then swaps the 'stimulus screen' and 'juice reward mechanism' labels, or the images they point to, for whatever activity and reward the poster wants to roast themselves for. Common conventions include replacing the screen with a specific game, app or video platform, and swapping the juice for an energy drink or soda[6]. Captions often use the 'watch X get Y' structure popularized by the first /r/ape repost[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Stimulus Screen? Stimulus Screen, also called Juice Reward Mechanism Monkey, is a lab diagram of a rhesus monkey wired to recording gear, staring at a screen and receiving juice as a reward, reused as a self-deprecating meme about screen addiction[4]. ### Where did Stimulus Screen come from? The figure appeared in a 2011 Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory paper on the neuronal basis of self-motion perception[4] and was reused in 2012 Reed College course materials on addiction[1] before @shack_diesel posted it on Twitter in June 2020[2]. ### What does Stimulus Screen mean? The monkey stands in for the poster; the stimulus screen is whatever game, feed or video they are glued to, and the juice is their reward of choice, often an energy drink or soda[6]. ### How do you use Stimulus Screen? Keep the diagram and its arrows, then swap the labels or photoshop the screen and juice container to match a specific habit, as mememonk_ did with 'literally me syndrome' in 2022[8]. ### Is Stimulus Screen still popular? It saw heavy exploitable use through early 2023, when monkey.posting's repost passed 17,000 likes in a day, and still shows up as a shorthand for dopamine-driven screen habits[10]. ## References 1. [https://www.reed.edu/biology/courses/BIO342/2012_syllabus/2012_WEBSITES/CSLP%20Nov%2020%20Monkey%20and%20Addiction/mechanism.html]() 2. [https://twitter.com/shack_diesel/status/1271539414838083584]() 3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ape/comments/h8eskz/watch_stimulus_screen_get_dopamine_reward/]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/stimulus-screen-juice-reward-mechanism-monkey]() 5. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/h9lf5u/rate_my_setup/]() 6. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CldKJ8Vu5hn/]() 7. [https://topherchris.com/post/654178413758808064]() 8. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CgzlpX3Adnd/]() 9. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CmSgG8hsmIF/]() 10. [https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn4u4QaO5A0/]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/stimulus-screen-juice-reward-mechanism-monkey Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library