4 facts you probably didn’t know about laughter

If you want to communicate with someone and they speak a language you don’t know, all you have to do is laugh. Laughter is a form of communication that is universally recognized, and this suggests that it is extremely important to all of humanity.

Laughter is thought to have originated before humans acquired speech skills and as a fun way for mothers to communicate with their children, either as a form of play or to strengthen human relationships. Even now, it’s as if our brains are trained and we immediately start smiling or laughing when we hear others do it.

Yet laughter is a largely involuntary reaction. It is not something you can force yourself to do. A is triggered by certain processes in the brain, such as breathing patterns, facial expressions, and even the muscles of the arms and legs

It is extremely important to maintain good health that we laugh every day. Also, laughter is very strange and mysterious, which makes it one of the most interesting reactions of the human psyche.

4 amazing facts about laughter

1. Rats laugh when tickled

Rats laugh when tickled and the more you play with them, the more they laugh. Psychologist Jack Panksepp first observed laughter in rats in 1990.

But it requires special equipment to catch it. We can tell if a rat is laughing by stretching its body to the maximum.

2. You’re more likely to laugh when you’re around other people than when you’re reading jokes

If you laugh, it’s most likely to happen when you’re in company, according to a study by expert e – Dr. Robert Provine. What makes most people laugh is another person, not a joke or a funny movie.

The study was conducted among 1,200 people who had to laugh in their usual environment – the one in which they spend most of their day.

And Provine and his team found that the likelihood of a person laughing after reading a joke is between 10 and 20%. But when surrounded by other acquaintances and friends, the likelihood of laughing is 30 times greater than when alone.

In most cases, laughter is followed by a seemingly completely banal comment or by its only mildly comic way of expression

From this it can be concluded that a person’s facial expression and manner of expression are much more important for causing laughter than the funny fact itself – be it a joke, a funny clip, etc.

3. Brain detects fake laughter

Professor Scott’s research has shown that the brain can tell the difference between real and intentional laughter. When we hear fake laughter, there is increased activity in the anterior medial prefrontal cortex of the brain, which helps us understand other people’s emotions. And this suggests that the brain automatically starts looking for the reason why someone laughs on purpose.

4. Laughter is contagious

The sound of laughter activates areas in the premotor cortex of the brain that regulate facial muscle movements, a kind of preparation for the laughter to come.