Where do wit and humor arise?

Especially during Mardi Gras or Carnival season, we are once again bombarded with more or less funny comedy speeches and gags. But how does our brain react to humor? Where in the brain do jokes originate, and where are they perceived? Neuroscientists Irvin Biederman and Ori Amir from the University of Southern California, USA, were recently able to answer the question of where a joke originates for the first time. They conducted an experiment that they presented at the recent conference of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, DC (the results have not yet been published). They recruited 14 professional stand-up comedians, i.e., people who earn their living by producing jokes spontaneously and under pressure. Normal students with no particular talent for humor served as controls. The test subjects were asked to look at cartoons of people in various situations and, on the one hand, write a funny line about it, and, on the other, a banal, boring line as a control. During the tasks, the test subjects lay in an MRI scanner, which allowed the researchers to observe the activity of the individual brain regions live during the tasks.

Comedians and ordinary people tick differently

Interestingly, differences between comedians and amateurs emerged primarily in the brain's reward centers, where, among other things, humor perception is located. In general, the funnier a gag was perceived, the higher the brain activity in the reward center. However, while the control subjects showed strong activity in these brain areas, the professional comedians either showed no activity at all or at least significantly less activity and also decreased very quickly. Since this type of brain activity is also characteristic of depression, this could perhaps explain the stereotype of the "sad clown." Or it could simply be that professional comedians are more desensitized to humor. In contrast to the amateurs, the professional comedians showed the strongest activity in the lateral temporal lobes of the brain, leading the researchers to assume that this is where the jokes are produced. Accordingly, the control subjects, who did not produce any jokes, showed very little activity in these areas.

What makes a joke a joke?

The doctor to the patient: "Unfortunately, I can't determine the cause of your symptoms. I suspect it's your drinking." The patient replies: "Okay, then I'll come back next week, maybe you'll be sober then." The humor of many jokes lies in the violation of expectations that occurs right at the end. This twist, suddenly giving a new, surprising meaning to an otherwise normal story, leads to the activation of the limbic system, which controls emotions, to which we respond with laughter or a smile. Of course, these reactions don't always manifest themselves in the same way for every person and for every joke.

Why laughter increases memory

According to findings from the Schwaben Association of German Psychologists (ÄBV Schwaben), laughter helps us relax, strengthen the immune system, and even reduce pain perception and increase our body's own healing powers. Laughter and smiling release endorphins, which also help reduce stress and even cure depression. Furthermore, simply smiling can help us learn faster and better, because laughter sends a positive signal to the brain, helping us remember things much better.

What else does a smile do

- Increase creativity
- Better results in school and at work
- Preventing burnout
- higher brain performance and concentration
- we stay awake and fit longer

Learning playfully and with humor from an early age

In fact, learning is easier for us from an early age if we associate it with a smile. Even babies learn faster using this method, or conversely, it means that whenever babies laugh, they also learn. This is at least what French researchers from the University of Paris Descartes have proven. They tested the learning effect of 53 one-and-a-half-year-old babies, once with and once without a funny show. The result was clear: all of the children who laughed passed the test (except for one child), only a fifth of those who didn't laugh, and only a quarter of those without a show. Humor is also an important factor in school, as it can be used to teach even difficult material in a playful way.