Laughter - that friendly expression on the face that we all visualize just by evoking the word - is something that we all think we know very well. However, behind this expression there are a number of emotional, social, psychological and even pathological causes that promote it. In addition, it is not exclusive to human beings, it is also observed in other animals such as chimpanzees, dogs and even rats.
Laughter is a physiological response to external and internal stimuli that trigger an emotion, which doesn't necessarily have to be happiness . There are many other reasons to laugh, so in this article we'll explain why we laugh and what the different types of laughter are and their meanings.
What is laughter?
Laughter is a physiological response triggered by external and internal stimuli that evoke an emotion . This emotion or energy needs to be released by the body, and this "release" occurs through laughter.
This is a facial expression facilitated by the facial muscles, involving numerous movements, the most noticeable being those of the mouth, cheeks, and eyes. It consists of emitting a series of consecutive sounds of the same pitch, repeated every 210 milliseconds.
It alters the respiratory system (making breathing difficult) and when laughter is sincere it can also alter the gastrointestinal system (the famous expression “my stomach hurts from laughing”), causing reddening of the cheeks and watering of the eyes, all governed by the autonomic nervous system.
Brain areas involved in laughter
Laughter - like any physiological response - is a complex phenomenon, despite the fact that we experience it as something simple and spontaneous. It involves the activation of numerous brain areas, the alteration of the already mentioned respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, and is accompanied by the release of different hormones.
The neural pathways activated during laughter differ depending on the type of laughter . Generally speaking, three main brain areas are involved in producing laughter: Wernicke's area, the reward system, and the prefrontal cortex. The interconnection of these areas requires the participation of other regions, such as the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and nucleus accumbens.
- El Wernicke's area It is the main area for language comprehension, whose activation is fundamental in social interactions, which will be -among others- the scenarios that promote laughter.
- El prefrontal area it is involved in decision making and in the voluntary inhibition of some responses, such as avoiding laughing in inappropriate social contexts.
- El hippocampus it is necessary to resort to biographical memory that will make us link a memory to the stimulus received and “decide” if it is funny or not.
- And basal ganglia y Accumbens Core They are regions of the limbic system that is involved in the processing and generation of emotions, fundamental for the evocation of joy, disgust, etc. that would trigger laughter (because one can also laugh out of disgust or revulsion, as we will see in the following lines).
- El reward system -as its name says- is a set of regions involved in generating a satisfactory response to a stimulus that the brain evaluates as a reward for a need or longing, thus generating a feeling of well-being or plenitude. It is activated by both physiological needs (such as eating, urinating, etc.) and emotional ones (a funny stimulus that makes us laugh, for example) and in all cases this feeling of satisfaction and well-being is caused by the hormones that are released through consequence of the implementation of this system, which are: the dopamine, endorphins y oxytocin.
Other non-human animals laugh too
You read that right, laughter isn't a response exclusive to human beings . It has been observed that other animals with evolved social abilities also laugh, such as chimpanzees, dogs , and rats. We all have a collective memory of these animals with a grin at the corners of their mouths , showing their teeth, which can sometimes be quite comical, and countless memes of these "laughing" animals circulate on social media.
It's worth noting that in animals, laughter isn't always a sign of friendliness or joy. In some cases (and this has been observed in many primates) , laughing while showing teeth is a sign of aggression and territorial marking . In any case—including humans—laughter acts as a "social glue," serving as a means of communication between individuals that modulates social dynamics.
Laughter Benefits
Laughter improves health, there's no doubt about it. Studies show that laughing (for real) improves the immune system and lengthens life. There's some controversy surrounding the latter, but what's clear is that if laughter improves health, it's very likely we'll live longer and with a better quality of life.
In fact, laughter is used as a therapeutic tool, and laughter therapy is employed in certain clinical settings to improve patients' health. We see this in pediatric oncology units, often enlivened by clown performances, in senior centers, and so on. Laughter induces an optimistic mood that relieves tension and makes even the most difficult situations seem less dramatic.
It has been shown to help combat anxiety and depression, prevent cardiovascular diseases, improve blood circulation, activate the brain, and improve relationships with others and with oneself.
Laughter has an eminently social function
In both humans and other animals, laughter serves a primary function: facilitating social interaction . Therefore, laughter has evolved to the present day because it represents a mechanism of social adaptation.
Laughter serves as a means of communication to convey sympathy, antipathy, or hatred, as well as to generate sexual attraction. Therefore, there are many types of laughter with different functions depending on the context, and that is why we will detail the types of laughter and their meanings below.
The types of laughter and their meaning
Next we will see that laughter can be caused by positive or adverse stimuli, it can be instrumental (with a purpose) and it can even be the consequence of an underlying pathology.
Laugh from the belly or sincere
It's considered the most honest type of laughter . It's also the most difficult to experience, as it requires a truly hilarious stimulus to trigger a gut-wrenching laugh, the kind that comes from gasping for air. Because it stems from a positive emotional response, it has numerous health benefits.
laughter
It's the loudest manifestation of genuine laughter . It's a burst of laughter that occurs because a stimulus has deeply affected us emotionally. The sound of this laughter comes from the fact that when we laugh, we exhale or suck in our nose. It's experienced by around 25% of women and 33% of men.
fatuous laughter
It is an empty laugh that arises out of context and without any stimulus. It is childish and superficial , and often inappropriate. It is accompanied by characteristic behavior such as shrugging the shoulders, covering the mouth, and trying to hide. It is manifested by people with brain damage or acute psychosis.
Etiquette or social laughter
It's laughter that serves as a mechanism for social adaptation. It arises in work or friendship contexts where laughter acts as a reinforcing agent in relationships , not as a response to something funny. It's simply laughter used to fit in with the social group.
Contagious laughter
Emotions are contagious, and so is laughter. Mirror neurons explain this social phenomenon whereby laughter spreads within a group, triggered by an initial burst of laughter. We laugh when we see someone else laugh; we've all experienced it.
uncontrollable laughter
It is a laugh that arises uncontrollably in the person who emits it, so that once it starts, it cannot be stopped . It increases in intensity gradually and leads to a strange form of "situational syncope."
Laughter to relieve stress
It begins spontaneously, like belly laughter, but it doesn't respond to a funny stimulus; rather, it arises from a stressful situation. In psychology, this is known as "comic relief," and its function in this case is clear: to relieve the body's tension in the face of adversity.
Nervous laugh
It arises for the same reason as the previous one, only it's a more uncontrolled laugh. It's a response to episodes of anxiety and represents an attempt by our subconscious to reduce stress by any means necessary.
silent laugh
One might think it's a type of laughter that arises from suppressing laughter in a space where it would be inappropriate. But that's not it; it's the "joker's laugh," a type of laughter that offers a kind of pause, inviting laughter from the audience . It's used in laughter therapy sessions and also in laughter yoga classes .
sardonic laugh
It's a laugh that arises as a result of a facial spasm, and the person exhibiting it isn't actually laughing. It occurs in patients who contract tetanus , where infection by the tetanus toxin causes paralysis of the muscles throughout the body, including the face, resulting in an expression of an apparent smile with a very wide mouth.
pigeon laugh
It's a type of laughter that involves laughing without opening your mouth. It's often practiced in laughter therapy or laughter yoga classes .
Canned or canned laughter
We all surely remember those background laughs heard in television comedy series. That's canned laughter : recordings of real laughter placed in a comedic context to promote or facilitate laughter from the viewer , precisely because—as mentioned earlier—laughter is contagious.
Cruel or offensive laugh
Cruel, offensive , or evil laughter is laughter that—far from being driven by a positive emotion —has the mission of ridiculing or mocking another person, exposing them through that “laughter”.
spastic laugh
It is an uncontrolled laugh that occurs episodically – in the form of a “laughing fit” – in the absence of a stimulus or even in contexts of sadness , in response to bad news, where it is seen as a “laughter of pain”.
There is a neurological and sometimes psychiatric cause for this phenomenon: it is a typical expression of pseudobulbar syndrome (a neurodegenerative disease), the pathology of "The Joker" , the protagonist of the recent film of the same name played by Joaquin Phoenix.
Laughter or gelastic crisis
This is a stereotypical laugh that is unrelated to the situational context and is a reaction to a rare type of epileptic seizure . It is a sudden laugh that can be accompanied by autonomic nervous system disorders, including altered states of consciousness and even fainting.