German scientists have recently used MRI studies to discover some neurological differences between different types of laughter. The researchers found that the brain areas triggered by laughter related to tickling and those triggered by laughter related to jokes are not the same. While both activities trigger vocal and emotional response centers, when a person is tickled, their hypothalamus and some pain anticipation areas are also activated.
Only ticklish laughter activated the hypothalamus, a part of the brain involved in regulating many functions, including visceral reactions, the researchers said.
Ticklish laughter also activated parts of the brain thought to be involved in anticipation of pain, which supports the idea that people who are tickled react defensively, according to researchers.
The study shows that the same brain networks are activated in earlier studies on humorous laughter. Yet, humorous laughter also activates an area of the brain involved in "higher order" functions, as well as a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is thought to be part of the brain's "pleasure center." Ticklish laughter did not activate these areas.
The results, which will be detailed in the June issue of the journal Cerebral Cortex, confirm the idea that ticklish laughter is a "building block" of humorous laughter - an idea first proposed by Charles Darwin and Ewald Hecker in the late 1800s, according to researchers.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Greifswald in Germany, and researchers at the University of Fribourg and University of Basel in Switzerland.
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