Taunting, Joy Activate Brain Regions Associated with Complex Tasks

Mockery, chuckle, joy along with laughing in response to tickling are all perceived by different areas of the brain, researchers from Germany have found.

Laughter in humans is different from that of animals, where it is just a tool for social bonding. In humans, laughter can give important social cues. People generally laugh even at unfunny jokes just to get along with each other. Although, this fake laugh might not always help, as people known when others are faking laughter.

The present study included 18 participants who were presented with different types of laughter. The study found that ticklish laughter, the more complex of all laughter at an acoustic level, generates less activity in the brain when compared with laughter of a taunt or joy. Also, these kinds of laughter generate more activity in areas of the brain that handle complex information.

"Laughing at someone and laughing with someone leads to different social consequences. Specific cerebral connectivity patterns during perception of these different types of laughter presumably reflect modulation of attentional mechanisms and processing resources," said Dirk Wildgruber from University of Tuebingen, Germany and one of the study authors, according to Science Daily.    

Changes in brain activity connected different regions of the brain, and this connection depended largely on what kind of laughter the participants heard. Researchers said that this study shows how non-verbal cues can impact brain connections, which was previously found associated with speech.

The study is published in the journal PLOS One.