Question: What makes us laugh?

Claire Bryer answered on 22 Jun 2015:

The physiological study of laughter is called gelotology. Several areas in the brain are seen to have activity when someone is stimulated to laugh:

-The left side of the cortex (the layer of cells that covers the entire surface of the forebrain) analyses the words and structure of the joke.
-The brain’s large frontal lobe, which is involved in social emotional responses, becomes very active.
-The right hemisphere of the cortex carries out the intellectual analysis required to “get” the joke.
-Brainwave activity then spreads 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 evoke physical responses to the joke.

Interestingly, deaf people who have never heard a sound still make laughing noises, so it is an innate (not learned) response.

We don’t really know for sure why we laugh, but a strong theory with lots evidence is that we laugh as a social signal. It has been shown that we are 30 times more likely to laugh when others are around us than when we are alone (using the same stimulant). Laughter makes and strengthens human connections.