Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of happiness Happiness is a state of mind or feeling such as contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. A variety of philosophical, religious, psychological and biological approaches have been taken to defining happiness and identifying its sources, or an inward feeling of joy (laughing on the inside). It may ensue (as a physiological Physiology is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. Physiology has traditionally been divided between plant physiology and animal and all living things physiology but the principles of physiology are universal, no matter what particular organism is being studied. For example, what is learned about reaction) from jokes A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. These jokes will normally have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it humorous. A joke can also be a single phrase or statement that employs sarcasm. The word joke can also be used as a slang term for a person or thing which is not, tickling Tickling is touching a part of the body, so as to cause involuntary twitching movements or laughter. Such sensations can be pleasurable or exciting, but are sometimes considered highly unpleasant, particularly in the case of relentless heavy tickling, and other stimuli. Inhaling Breathing takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the body. Aerobic organisms require oxygen to create energy via respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose. The medical term for normal relaxed breathing is eupnea nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide, commonly known as happy gas or laughing gas, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula N2O. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a pleasant, slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic effects. It is known as "laughing gas" due to the can also induce laughter; other drugs, such as cannabis Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis indica Lam., and Cannabis ruderalis Janisch. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, South Asia, and surrounding regions. Cannabis has long been used for fibre (hemp), for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial, can also induce episodes of strong laughter. Strong laughter can sometimes bring an onset of tears Tears are the liquid product of a process of crying to clean and lubricate the eyes. The word lacrimation (also spelled lachrymation) may also be used in a medical or literary sense to refer to crying. Strong emotions, such as sorrow or elation, may lead to crying. The process of yawning may also result in lacrimation. Although most land mammals or even moderate muscular pain.

Laughter is found among various animals, including humans. Among the latter, it is a part of human behaviour The behavior of people falls within a range with some behavior being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some outside acceptable limits. In sociology, behavior is considered as having no meaning, being not directed at other people and thus is the most basic human action. Behavior should not be mistaken with social behavior, which is more regulated by the brain The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as jellyfish and starfish have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all. In vertebrates, the brain is located in the head, protected by the skull and close to the primary, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction Social interaction is a dynamic, changing sequence of social actions between individuals who modify their actions and reactions according to those of their interaction partner(s). In other words, they are events in which people attach meaning to a situation, interpret what others are meaning, and respond accordingly and providing an emotional context to conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group — it signals acceptance and positive interactions with others. Laughter is sometimes seemingly contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback Positive feedback, sometimes referred to as "cumulative causation", is a feedback loop system in which the system responds to perturbation in the same direction as the perturbation. In contrast, a system that responds to the perturbation in the opposite direction is called a negative feedback system. These concepts were first recognized.^[1] This may account in part for the popularity of laugh tracks A laugh track, laughter soundtrack, laughter track, LFN , canned laughter or a laughing audience is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into TV comedy shows and sitcoms. The first American television show to incorporate a laugh track was the in situation comedy A situation comedy, usually referred to as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy programs which originated in radio. Today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. Sitcoms usually consist of recurring characters in a common environment such as a home or workplace and can include laugh tracks or studio television shows.

Scientifically speaking, Laughter is caused by the epiglottis constricting the larynx,causing respiratory upset. The study of humor and laughter, and its psychological and physiological effects on the human body is called gelotology Gelotology is the study of humor and laughter, its effects on the human body, and of medical abnormalities of laughing. It is also the psychological and physiological study of laughter. The word is from the Greek gelos, geloto meaning laugh, laughter, laughing . The word gelotology is often misspelled as gelatology.

Nature of laughter

Recently researchers have shown infants as early as 17 days old have vocal laughing sounds or spontaneous laughter. Early Human Development 2006This conflicts with earlier studies indicating that babies usually start to laugh at about four months of age; J.Y.T. Greig writes, quoting ancient authors, that laughter is not believed to begin in a child until the child is forty days old.^[2] "Laughter is Genetic" Robert R. Provine, Ph.D. has spent decades studying laughter. In his interview for WebMD, he indicated "Laughter is a mechanism everyone has; laughter is part of universal human vocabulary. There are thousands of languages, hundreds of thousands of dialects, but everyone speaks laughter in pretty much the same way.” Everyone can laugh. Babies have the ability to laugh before they ever speak. Children who are born blind and deaf still retain the ability to laugh.

Provine argues that “Laughter is primitive, an unconscious vocalization.” And if it seems you laugh more than others, Provine argues that it probably is genetic. In a study of the “Giggle Twins,” two exceptionally happy twins Twins are two offspring resulting from the same pregnancy, usually born in close succession. They can be the same or different sex. Twins can either be monozygotic or dizygotic (DZ, colloquially "fraternal" or "non-identical") were separated at birth and not reunited until 43 years later. Provine reports that “until they met each other, neither of these exceptionally happy ladies had known anyone who laughed as much as she did.” They reported this even though they both had been brought together by their adoptive parents, whom they indicated were “undemonstrative and dour.” Provine indicates that the twins “inherited some aspects of their laugh sound and pattern, readiness to laugh, and perhaps even taste in humor.” WebMD 2002

Raju Mandhyan states "The physical and psychological benefits of laughter come second only to the physical and psychological benefits of sex."

Norman Cousins Norman Cousins was a prominent political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate developed a recovery program incorporating megadoses of Vitamin C, along with a positive attitude, love, faith, hope, and laughter induced by Marx Brothers films. "I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep," he reported. "When the pain-killing effect of the laughter wore off, we would switch on the motion picture projector again and not infrequently, it would lead to another pain-free interval." He wrote about these experiences in several books.^[3][4]

Research has noted the similarity in forms of laughter among various primates A primate is a member of the biological order Primates (/prаɪˈmeɪtiːz/ prī·mā′·tēz; Latin: "prime, first rank"), the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth,[a] most (humans, gorillas Gorillas are the largest of the living primates. They are ground-dwelling herbivores that inhabit the forests of Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is 98%–99% identical to that of a human, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the two chimpanzee species, orang-utans The orangutans are a species of great apes. Known for their intelligence, they live in trees and they are the largest living arboreal animal. They have longer arms than other great apes, and their hair is typically reddish-brown, instead of the brown or black hair typical of other great apes; a new black-haired subspecies was recently discovered...), suggesting that laughter derives from a common origin among primate species, and has subsequently evolved In biology, evolution is the change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though the changes produced in any one generation are small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the organisms. This process can culminate in the emergence of new species in each species.^[5]

Laughter and the brain

Modern neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a part of physiology. Neurophysiology is the study of nervous system function. Primarily, it is connected with neurobiology, psychology, neurology, clinical neurophysiology, electrophysiology, biophysical neurophysiology, ethology, neuroanatomy, cognitive science and other brain sciences states that laughter is linked with the activation of the ventromedial The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is a part of the prefrontal cortex in the mammalian brain. The ventral medial prefrontal is located in the frontal lobe and is implicated in the processing of risk and fear, and in decision making prefrontal cortex The prefrontal cortex is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain, lying in front of the motor and premotor areas, which produces endorphins Endorphins are endogenous opioid polypeptide compounds. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, excitement, pain, death, and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain relievers", after a rewarding activity.

Research has shown that parts of the limbic system The limbic system is a set of brain structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, and limbic cortex, which support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long term memory, and olfaction. The term "limbic" comes from Latin limbus, loosely translating as "border" or "belt" are involved in laughter^{[citation needed]}. The limbic system is a primitive part of the brain The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as jellyfish and starfish have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all. In vertebrates, the brain is located in the head, protected by the skull and close to the primary that is involved in emotions and helps us with basic functions necessary for survival. Two structures in the limbic system are involved in producing laughter: the amygdala The regions described as amygdalae encompass several nuclei with distinct functional traits. Among these nuclei are the basolateral complex, the centromedial nucleus and the cortical nucleus. The basolateral complex can be further subdivided into the lateral, the basal and the accessory basal nuclei and the hippocampus The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other mammals. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in long term memory and spatial navigation. Like the cerebral cortex, with which it is closely associated, it is a paired structure, with mirror-image halves in the left and right sides of the brain. In humans^{[citation needed]}.

The December 7 December 7 is the 341st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 24 days remaining until the end of the year, 1984 1984 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Journal of the American Medical Association The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated 1897, is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States. The AMA's mission claims to promote the art and science of medicine for the betterment of the public health, to advance the interests of physicians and their patients, to promote public describes the neurological causes of laughter as follows:

"Although there is no known 'laugh center' in the brain, its neural mechanism has been the subject of much, albeit inconclusive, speculation. It is evident that its expression depends on neural paths arising in close association with the telencephalic The cerebrum or telencephalon, together with the diencephalon, constitute the forebrain. It is the most anterior or, especially in humans, most superior region of the vertebrate central nervous system. "Telencephalon" refers to the embryonic structure, from which the mature "cerebrum" develops. The dorsal telencephalon, or and diencephalic The diencephalon is the region of the brain that includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus, prethalamus or subthalamus and pretectum. The diencephalon is located at the midline of the brain, above the mesencephalon of the brain stem. The diencephalon contains the zona limitans intrathalamica as morphological boundary and signalling center centers concerned with respiration In animal physiology, respiration is the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. This is in contrast to the biochemical definition of respiration, which refers to cellular respiration: the metabolic process by which an organism obtains energy by reacting. Wilson considered the mechanism to be in the region of the mesial thalamus, hypothalamus The hypothalamus is a portion of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions of the hypothalamus is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland . The hypothalamus, (from Greek ὑποθαλαμος = under the thalamus) is located below the, and subthalamus During development the subthalamus is continuous with the hypothalamus, but is separated by white matter fibres mainly from the internal capsule. Caudally, the subthalamus or prethalamus is separated from the thalamus by the zona limitans intrathalamica. Other nuclei of the subthalamus are the zona incerta, thalamic reticular nucleus, and the. Kelly and co-workers, in turn, postulated that the tegmentum The tegmentum is a general area within the brainstem. It is located between the ventricular system and distinctive basal or ventral structures at each level. It forms the floor of the midbrain whereas the tectum forms the ceiling. It is a multisynaptic network of neurons that is involved in many unconscious homeostatic and reflexive pathways near the periaqueductal grey contains the integrating mechanism for emotional expression. Thus, supranuclear pathways, including those from the limbic system The limbic system is a set of brain structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, and limbic cortex, which support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long term memory, and olfaction. The term "limbic" comes from Latin limbus, loosely translating as "border" or "belt" that Papez hypothesised to mediate emotional expressions such as laughter, probably come into synaptic Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system relation in the reticular core of the brain stem. So while purely emotional responses such as laughter are mediated by subcortical structures, especially the hypothalamus, and are stereotyped, the cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex is a structure within the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It constitutes the outermost layer of the cerebrum. In preserved brains, it has a grey color, hence the name "grey matter". Grey matter is formed by neurons and their unmyelinated can modulate or suppress them."

Laughter and Health

According to Cindie Leonard,^[6]

Causes

Common causes for laughter are sensations of joy and humor Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. Many theories exist about what humour is and what social function it serves. People of all ages and cultures respond to humour. The majority of people are able to be amused, to laugh or smile at something funny, and thus they are, however other situations may cause laughter as well.

A general theory that explains laughter is called the relief theory. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939), was an Austrian neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis for curing psychopathology summarized it in his theory that laughter releases tension and "psychic energy". This theory is one of the justifications of the beliefs that laughter is beneficial for one's health.^[7] This theory explains why laughter can be as a coping mechanism for when one is upset, angry Anger is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage. The physical effects of anger include increased heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some view anger as part of the fight or flight brain response to the perceived threat of harm. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, or sad.

Philosopher Most academic subjects have a philosophy, for example the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of logic, the philosophy of law, and the philosophy of history. In addition, a range of academic subjects have emerged to deal with areas which would have historically been the subject of philosophy. These include John Morreall John Morreall is Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia . He has also taught at Northwestern University, Santa Clara University, Pennsylvania State University, and the Rochester Institute of Technology theorizes that human laughter may have its biological origins as a kind of shared expression of relief at the passing of danger.

For example, this is how this theory works in the case of humor: a joke A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. These jokes will normally have a punchline that will end the sentence to make it humorous. A joke can also be a single phrase or statement that employs sarcasm. The word joke can also be used as a slang term for a person or thing which is not creates an inconsistency In logic, a consistent theory is one that does not contain a contradiction. The lack of contradiction can be defined in either semantic or syntactic terms. The semantic definition states that a theory is consistent if it has a model; this is the sense used in traditional Aristotelian logic, although in contemporary mathematical logic the term, the sentence appears to be not relevant, and we automatically try to understand what the sentence says, supposes, doesn't say, and implies; if we are successful in solving this 'cognitive riddle', and we find out what is hidden within the sentence, and what is the underlying thought, and we bring foreground what was in the background, and we realize that the surprise wasn't dangerous, we eventually laugh with relief. Otherwise, if the inconsistency is not resolved, there is no laugh, as Mack Sennett pointed out: "when the audience is confused, it doesn't laugh" (this is the one of the basic laws of a comedian, called "exactness"). It is important to note that the inconsistency may be resolved, and there may still be no laugh. Due to the fact that laughter is a social mechanism, we may not feel like we are in danger, however, the physical act of laughing may not take place. In addition, the extent of the inconsistency (timing, rhythm, etc) has to do with the amount of danger we feel, and thus how intense or long we laugh. This explanation is also confirmed by modern neurophysiology (see section Laughter and the Brain).

See also

• Laughter in animals
• Evil laugh
• Death from laughter
• Gelotology
• Laughter in Literature
• Nervous laughter
• Pathological laughing and crying
• Laughter Yoga

References

1. ^ Camazine, Deneubourg, Franks, Sneyd, Theraulaz, Bonabeau, Self-Organization in Biological Systems, Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-691-11624-5 --ISBN 0-691-01211-3 (pbk.) p. 18
2. ^ J.Y.T. Greig, The Psychology of Comedy and Laughter
3. ^ Cousins, Norman, The Healing Heart : Antidotes to Panic and Helplessness, New York : Norton, 1983. ISBN 0393018164
4. ^ Cousins, Norman, Anatomy of an illness as perceived by the patient : reflections on healing and regeneration, introd. by René Dubos, New York : Norton, 1979. ISBN 0393012522
5. ^ "Tickled apes yield laughter clue", BBC, June 4, 2009
6. ^ http://www.naturalnews.com/026311.html Laugh Your Way to Health
7. ^ M.P. Mulder, A. Nijholt (2002) "Humor Research: State of the Art"

Further reading

• Bachorowski, J.-A., Smoski, M.J., & Owren, M.J. The acoustic features of human laughter. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110 (1581) 2001
• Bakhtin, Mikhail (1941). Rabelais and His World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Chapman, Antony J.; Foot, Hugh C.; Derks, Peter (editors), Humor and Laughter: Theory, Research, and Applications, Transaction Publishers, 1996. ISBN 1560008377
• Cousins, Norman, Anatomy of an Illness As Perceived by the Patient, 1979.
• Fried, I., Wilson, C.L., MacDonald, K.A., and Behnke EJ. Electric current stimulates laughter. Nature, 391:650, 1998 (see patient AK)
• Goel, V. & Dolan, R. J. The functional anatomy of humor: segregating cognitive and affective components. Nature Neuroscience 3, 237 - 238 (2001).
• Greig, John Young Thomson, The Psychology of Comedy and Laughter, New York, Dodd, Mead and company, 1923.
• Marteinson, Peter, On the Problem of the Comic: A Philosophical Study on the Origins of Laughter, Legas Press, Ottawa, 2006.
• Miller M, Mangano C, Park Y, Goel R, Plotnick GD, Vogel RA.Impact of cinematic viewing on endothelial function.Heart. 2006 Feb;92(2):261-2.
• Provine, R. R., Laughter. American Scientist, V84, 38:45, 1996.
• Quentin Skinner (2004) (pdf). Hobbes and the Classical Theory of Laughter. http://www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-926461-9.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-10-23. included in book: Sorell, Tom; Luc Foisneau. "6". Leviathan After 350 Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 139–66. ISBN 13: 978-0-19-926461-2 ISBN 10: 0-19-926461-9. http://www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-926461-9.pdf.
• Raskin, Victor, Semantic Mechanisms of Humor (1985).
• MacDonald, C., "A Chuckle a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: Therapeutic Humor & Laughter" Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services(2004) V42, 3:18-25
• Kawakami, K., et al., Origins of smile and laughter: A preliminary study Early Human Development (2006) 82, 61-66
• Johnson, S., Emotions and the Brain Discover (2003) V24, N4
• Panksepp, J., Burgdorf, J., “Laughing” rats and the evolutionary antecedents of human joy? Physiology & Behavior (2003) 79:533-547
• Milius, S., Don't look now, but is that dog laughing? Science News (2001) V160 4:55
• Simonet, P., et al., Dog Laughter: Recorded playback reduces stress related behavior in shelter dogs 7th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment (2005)
• Discover Health (2004) Humor & Laughter: Health Benefits and Online Sources
• Klein, A. The Courage to Laugh: Humor, Hope and Healing in the Face of Death and Dying. Los Angeles, CA: Tarcher/Putman, 1998.
• Ron Jenkins Subversive laughter (New York, Free Press, 1994), 13ff
• Bogard, M. Laughter and its Effects on Groups. New York, New York: Bullish Press, 2008.
• Humor Theory. The formulae of laughter by Igor Krichtafovitch, Outskitspress, 2006, ISBN 9781598002225

External links

• The Origins of Laughter
• Human laughter up to 16 million years old
• Humor therapy for cancer patients
• Etymology of Gelotology
• More information about Gelotology from the University of Washington
• How Stuff Works - Laughter
• Formulae of laughter
• WNYC's Radio Lab radio show: Is Laughter just a Human Thing?

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