What is the purpose of laughter?

Philosopher John Morreall believes that the first human laughter may have begun as a gesture
of shared relief at the passing of danger. And since the relaxation that results from a bout of
laughter inhibits the biological fight-or-flight response, laughter may indicate trust in one's
companions.
Many researchers believe that the purpose of laughter is related to making and strengthening
human connections. "Laughter occurs when people are comfortable with one another, when they
feel open and free. And the more laughter [there is], the more bonding [occurs] within the
group," says cultural anthropologist Mahadev Apte. This feedback "loop" of bonding-laughtermore bonding, combined with the common desire not to be singled out from the group, may be
another reason why laughter is often contagious.
Studies have also found that dominant individuals -- the boss or the tribal chief or the family
patriarch -- use humor more than their subordinates. If you've often thought that everyone in the
office laughs when the boss laughs, you're very perceptive. In such cases, Morreall says,
controlling the laughter of a group becomes a way of exercising power by controlling the
emotional climate of the group. So laughter, like much human behavior, must have evolved to
change the behavior of others, Provine says. For example, in an embarrassing or threatening
situation, laughter may serve as a conciliatory gesture or as a way to deflect anger. If the
threatening person joins the laughter, the risk of confrontation may lessen.
Provine is among only a few people who are studying laughter much as an animal behaviorist
might study a dog's bark or a bird's song. He believes that laughter, like the bird's song, functions
as a kind of social signal. Other studies have confirmed that theory by proving that people are 30
times more likely to laugh in social settings than when they are alone (and without pseudo-social
stimuli like television). Even nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, loses much of its oomph when
taken in solitude, according to German psychologist Willibald Ruch.
(For an explanation of how laughing gas works, see How Anesthesia Works.)

Laughter on the Brain

The physiological study of laughter has its own name -- gelotology. And we know that certain
parts of the brain are responsible for certain human functions. For example, emotional responses
are the function of the brain's largest region, the frontal lobe. But researchers have learned that
the production of laughter is involved with various regions of the brain. While the relationship
between laughter and the brain is not fully understood, researchers are making some progress.
For example, Derks traced the pattern of brainwave activity in subjects responding to humorous
material. Subjects were hooked up to an electroencephalograph (EEG) and their brain activity
was measured when they laughed. In each case, the brain produced a regular electrical pattern.
Within four-tenths of a second of exposure to something potentially funny, an electrical wave

moved through the cerebral cortex, the largest part of the brain. If the wave took a negative
charge, laughter resulted. If it maintained a positive charge, no response was given, researchers
said.
During the experiment, researchers observed the following specific activities:

The left side of the cortex (the layer of cells that covers the entire surface of the
forebrain) analyzed the words and structure of the joke.
The brain's large frontal lobe, which is involved in social emotional responses, became
very active.
The right hemisphere of the cortex carried out the intellectual analysis required to "get"
the joke.
Brainwave activity then spread to the sensory processing area of the occipital lobe (the
area on the back of the head that contains the cells that process visual signals).
Stimulation of the motor sections evoked physical responses to the joke.

This is different from what happens with emotional responses. Emotional responses appear to be
confined to specific areas of the brain, while laughter seems to be produced via a circuit that runs
through many regions of the brain. (This means that damage to any of these regions can impair
one's sense of humor and response to humor, experts say.)

The

Limbic

System

When we look more closely at the areas of the brain involved with laughter, the limbic system
seems to be central. The limbic system is a network of structures located beneath the cerebral
cortex. This system is important because it controls some behaviors that are essential to the life
of all mammals (finding food, self-preservation).
Interestingly, the same structures found in the human limbic system can also be found in the
brains of evolutionary ancient animals such as the alligator. In the alligator, the limbic system is
heavily involved in smell and plays an important role in defending territory, hunting and eating
prey. In humans, the limbic system is more involved in motivation and emotional behaviors.

Structures in the brain's limbic system, which controls many

essential human behaviors, also contribute to the production
of laughter.

While the structures in this highly developed part of the brain interconnect, research has shown
that the amygdala, a small almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain, and the
hippocampus, a tiny, seahorse-shaped structure, seem to be the main areas involved with
emotions. The amygdala connects with the hippocampus as well as the medial dorsal nucleus of
the thalamus. These connections enable it to play an important role in the mediation and control
of major activities like friendship, love and affection and on the expression of mood. The
hypothalamus, particularly its median part, has been identified as a major contributor to the
production of loud, uncontrollable laughter.

What makes us laugh?

Laughter is triggered when we find something humorous. There are three traditional
theories about what we find humorous:
The incongruity theory suggests that humor arises when logic and familiarity are
replaced by things that don't normally go together. Researcher Thomas Veatch says
a joke becomes funny when we expect one outcome and another happens. When a
joke begins, our minds and bodies are already anticipating what's going to happen
and how it's going to end. That anticipation takes the form of logical thought
intertwined with emotion and is influenced by our past experiences and our thought
processes. When the joke goes in an unexpected direction, our thoughts and
emotions suddenly have to switch gears. We now have new emotions, backing up a
different line of thought. In other words, we experience two sets of incompatible
thoughts and emotions simultaneously. We experience this incongruity between the
different parts of the joke as humorous.

The superiority theory comes into play when we laugh at jokes that focus on
someone else's mistakes, stupidity or misfortune. We feel superior to this person,
experience a certain detachment from the situation and so are able to laugh at it.

The relief theory is the basis for a device movie-makers have used effectively for a
long time. In action films or thrillers where tension is high, the director uses comic
relief at just the right times. He builds up the tension or suspense as much as
possible and then breaks it down slightly with a side comment, enabling the viewer
to relieve himself of pent-up emotion, just so the movie can build it up again!
Similarly, an actual story or situation creates tension within us. As we try to cope with
two sets of emotions and thoughts, we need a release and laughter is the way of
cleansing our system of the built-up tension and incongruity. (According to Dr. Lisa
Rosenberg, humor, especially dark humor, can help workers cope with stressful
situations. "The act of producing humor, of making a joke, gives us a mental break
and increases our objectivity in the face of overwhelming stress," she said.)

Why can't I tickle myself?

This is a little off the beaten laughter path, but believe it or not, some research is being
conducted in this area. In fact, researchers at the University of California in San Diego
have even constructed a "tickle machine."
Some scientists believe that laughing caused by tickling is a built-in reflex. If this is true,
then, theoretically, you should be able to tickle yourself. But you can't -- not even in the
same area and the same way someone else tickles you into hysteria! The information
sent to your spinal cord and brain should be exactly the same. But apparently, for
tickling to work, the brain needs tension and surprise -- something that's obviously
missing when you tickle yourself. How the brain uses this information about tension and
surprise is still a mystery.

Why don't we all laugh at the same things?

Experts say that several obvious differences in people affect what they find humorous. The most
significant seems to be age.
Infants and children are constantly discovering the world around them. A lot of what goes on
seems ridiculous and surprising, which strikes them as funny. What's funny to a toddler consists
of short and simple concepts, like an elephant joke. Along with the ridiculous and the surprising,
children -- much to their parents' dismay -- also appreciate jokes where cruelty is present (it
boosts their self-assertiveness) and what we refer to as "toilet humor." To children, a
preoccupation with bodily functions is simply another way of exploring their fascinating new
environment.
The pre-teen and teenage years are, almost universally, awkward and tense. Lots of adolescents
and teens laugh at jokes that focus on sex, food, authority figures and -- in typical rebellious style
-- any subject that adults consider off-limits. It is an insecure time of life and young people often
use humor as a tool to protect themselves or to feel superior.
As we mature, both our physical bodies and mental outlooks grow and change. Since there is a
certain amount of intelligence involved in "getting" a joke, our senses of humor becomes more
developed as we learn more. By the time we're grown, we have experienced much of life,
including tragedy and success. In keeping with these experiences, our senses of humor are more
mature. We laugh at other people and ourselves in shared common predicaments and
embarrassments. The adult sense of humor is usually characterized as more subtle, more tolerant
and less judgmental about the differences in people. The things we find funny as a result of our
age or developmental stage seem to be related to the stressors we experience during this time.
Basically, we laugh at the issues that stress us out.
Another factor that affects what we find funny is the culture or community from which we
come. Have you ever laughed at a joke and realized that if you were from anywhere else in the
world, it just wouldn't be funny? It's a fact of life that culture and community provide lots of
fodder for jokes. There are economic, political and social issues that are easy to laugh about, but
only the people living in that culture may understand it. For example, a joke from a small
country might not have universal appeal because it would be so little understood. The big,

influential, much-observed United States might be the exception to this rule. Thanks to media
and movies, most people around the world know what is going on here. So jokes about a
situation in the United States can be enjoyed pretty much across the globe.
When people say "That's not funny," theorist Veatch says they mean either "It is offensive" or
"So, what's the point?" For someone to find a joke or situation offensive, he must have some
attachment to the principle or person being demeaned or put down in the joke. So racist and
sexist jokes are offensive to many people who feel strongly about fighting bigotry and prejudice
in the world. According to Veatch, when someone says, "So, what's the point?," it indicates the
absence of any moral or emotional attachment or commitment to the joke's "victim."