Laughter is the Best Medicine: Where does taunting fall?
Laugh therapy is very popular across cultures and it comes
from the belief that laughter is the best medicine. However, scientists are
intrigued on how the brain manages to distinguish different types of laughter
signals. How does it differentiate a person laughing with joy from a person
laughing due to a taunt?
Just for Laughs:
When is Laughter the Best Medicine
"Laughter is a
very strong signal when it comes to social interaction. A person feels accepted
when he is smiled at. However, a person feels excluded from the group when on
the receiving end of a taunt," said Wildgruber, who is a scientist and
doctor of psychiatry.
As part of their
research, Wildgruber and his team exposed their test subjects to different
laughter sounds and measured how these were processed in the brain.
The scientists found
that when we hear a person being tickled, the neural connections in our brains
are mainly just doing acoustic analysis of quite a complicated noise.
By contrast, when
processing taunting and friendly laughter types, we activate brain areas
associated with metallising and forming visual associations. Visual imagery may
support the formation of inferences on the intentions of our social
counterparts.”
Since laughter is indeed a proven therapy in helping release
stress and anxiety, why not watch some portions of my favorite TV show, Big Bang Theory, which truly made me laugh... laugh hard.
It looked liked he was really caught off-guard with this prank from Sheldon Cooper. It made me laugh so hard, mom had to ask why I was laughing alone with my headset.
I wonder if I will do the same if I am alone in this pool of molecules. Jae, shall we swim in this pool like kids. What will our students say? hehehe
Suddenly, here is a miracle. Sheldon interacting with another human being. Truly, laughter is the best medicine. Understand Sheldon and it would be easier to understand me. hahaha.
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