Laugh And The World Laughs Too
By Gemma Brittle
It’s easy to get a whole room full of people entertained; when one laughs the others follow, but up until now it has not been understood why this laughter is quite so contagious. However, researchers at UCL and Imperial College London have found that we will instinctively laugh or be saddened by certain emotive sounds.
The brain responds to sounds such as laughter or a triumphant outburst of ‘woohoo’, in the same way that it responds to a smile, as though preparing our facial muscles to laugh. Studies into body language have shown for some time that the behaviour of other can people can have a large effect on a person’s actions at a subconscious level, such as mirroring each other’s actions when both parties are interested. Now it has been shown to be the same with laughter, “when you laugh, the whole world laughs with you.”
Volunteers had a variety of sounds played to them whilst measuring their brain’s response using an fMRI scanner. All of the sounds, whether being more positive sounding such as laughter or the less-loved sounds such as screaming or retching, triggered a response in the premotor cortical region of the brain, which prepares the muscles in the face to react accordingly. The positive sounds gave a much more significant response, implying that they are much more contagious than the negative sounds, hence why we smile involuntarily to a positive cause.
This research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, could lead to a good method of improving relationships between individuals in a group, as positive emotions are usually encountered within groups, via such things as television programmes or events such as rugby matches. Dr Scott says, “this response in the brain, automatically priming us to smile or laugh, provides a way of mirroring the behaviour of others, something which helps us interact socially.”
So if the Christmas isn’t going according to plan, crack out a bit of Peter Kay or Only Fools and Horses and have a room full of laughter instead of an extra-specially long episode of Eastenders.
To find out more about Gemma or read more of her articles click here.
The brain responds to sounds such as laughter or a triumphant outburst of ‘woohoo’, in the same way that it responds to a smile, as though preparing our facial muscles to laugh. Studies into body language have shown for some time that the behaviour of other can people can have a large effect on a person’s actions at a subconscious level, such as mirroring each other’s actions when both parties are interested. Now it has been shown to be the same with laughter, “when you laugh, the whole world laughs with you.”
Volunteers had a variety of sounds played to them whilst measuring their brain’s response using an fMRI scanner. All of the sounds, whether being more positive sounding such as laughter or the less-loved sounds such as screaming or retching, triggered a response in the premotor cortical region of the brain, which prepares the muscles in the face to react accordingly. The positive sounds gave a much more significant response, implying that they are much more contagious than the negative sounds, hence why we smile involuntarily to a positive cause.
This research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, could lead to a good method of improving relationships between individuals in a group, as positive emotions are usually encountered within groups, via such things as television programmes or events such as rugby matches. Dr Scott says, “this response in the brain, automatically priming us to smile or laugh, provides a way of mirroring the behaviour of others, something which helps us interact socially.”
So if the Christmas isn’t going according to plan, crack out a bit of Peter Kay or Only Fools and Horses and have a room full of laughter instead of an extra-specially long episode of Eastenders.
To find out more about Gemma or read more of her articles click here.
Image: Kevin Clifford
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