News tagged with laughter
Laughter really is the best medicine
A rattling good laugh with friends will help you deal with pain thanks to opiate-like chemicals that flood the brain, according to a British study released on Wednesday.
Sep 14, 2011 |
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African-American women stress compounded
Using incense or lighting a candle may seem like good ways to let go of racial stress, but a recent study found that might not be the case in terms of racial tension among women. In fact, some coping strategies employed by ...
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jul 12, 2011 |
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Laughter really is the best medicine (for leg ulcers)
Forget technology. The best prescription for patients with venous leg ulcers is good quality nursing care – and the occasional belly laugh!
Mar 08, 2011 |
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Laugh and apes laugh with you
(PhysOrg.com) -- Just like humans, chimpanzees mimic the laughter of their playmates even if they don't find the situation as 'funny'.
Mar 02, 2011 |
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No laughing matter: Laughter can play key role in group dynamics
Laughter can play key roles in group communication and group dynamics - even when there's nothing funny going on. That's according to new research from North Carolina State University that examined the role of laughter in ...
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Aug 24, 2010 |
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Laughter is not just funny
(PhysOrg.com) -- Everybody enjoys a laugh but new research from an international team shows it's not as simple as you might think.
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 19, 2010 |
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Study finds body's response to repetitive laughter is similar to the effect of repetitive exercise
Laughter is a highly complex process. Joyous or mirthful laughter is considered a positive stress (eustress) that involves complicated brain activities leading to a positive effect on health. Norman Cousins first suggested ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 26, 2010 |
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To scientists, laughter is no joke -- it's serious
(AP) -- So a scientist walks into a shopping mall to watch people laugh.
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Mar 31, 2010 |
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Hyenas' laughter signals deciphered
Acoustic analysis of the 'giggle' sound made by spotted hyenas has revealed that the animals' laughter encodes information about age, dominance and identity. Researchers writing in the open access journal ...
Mar 29, 2010 |
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Everybody laughs, everybody cries: Researchers identify universal emotions
Here's a piece of research that might leave you tickled: laughter is a universal language, according to new research. The study, conducted with people from Britain and Namibia, suggests that basic emotions such as amusement, ...
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jan 25, 2010 |
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A Serious Question: Why Do We Laugh?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Not surprisingly, Robert Lynch begins his research paper "It's Funny Because We Think It's True: Laughter is Augmented by Implicit Preferences" with a joke. Not his joke, but one taken from a ...
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Fear of being laughed at crosses cultural boundaries
Laughter is an emotional expression that is innate in human beings. This means laughing at others is also believed to be a universal phenomenon. However, the fear of being laughed at causes some people enormous ...
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Goose bumps, laughter and butterflies
The human body is as mysterious as it is magnificent. For every essential function like thought or a heartbeat, the body exhibits quirky behaviors that seem to defy explanation. Like goose bumps. Or hiccups. ...
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Laughter Differs In Children With Autism
According to a recent paper entitled "Laughter Differs in Children with Autism: An Acoustic Analysis of Laughter Produced by Children with and without the Disorder" in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, childr ...
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jul 10, 2009 |
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Reconstructing the evolution of laughter in great apes and humans
Like human infants, young apes are known to hoot and holler when you tickle them. But is it fair to say that those playful calls are really laughter? The answer to that question is yes, say researchers reporting ...
Jun 04, 2009 |
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Laughter
Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli, fundamentally stress, which serves as an emotional balancing mechanism. Traditionally, it is considered a visual expression of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli. It is in most cases a very pleasant sensation.
Laughter is found among various animals, as well as in humans, although it is more rare in most mammals and animals overall. Among the human species, it is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction 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 seen as contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback. This may account in part for the popularity of laugh tracks in situation comedy television shows. Laughter is anatomically caused by the epiglottis constricting the larynx. The study of humor and laughter, and its psychological and physiological effects on the human body, is called gelotology.
For more information about Laughter, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
