Laughter and comedy
are things that we have commonly discussed and attempted to define over and
over again in class. As we have discussed this, we have talked about the
various qualities of both of these, how they relate, and how they are portrayed
in plays or defined in articles. The basis of laughter is how it makes us
feel (or don’t feel according to Bergson) and our experiences and response
toward an external source. This observation is what led us, Pamela and
Rachel, to see the effects it has on us internally. What is it about
laughter that enhances the quality of life and how does the effects of laughter
on the body relate to the definitions of laughter that we have begun to develop?
Furthermore, how does this compare to the effects that emotions have on
us? Since there are numerous amounts of
emotions, we decided to focus on the one that is the most relevant- empathy. Bergson stated in his article that in a world
full of empathy, there would be no laughter.
Is this true? Since it is a purely hypothetical question that cannot be
proven by comparing a group of people that only feel empathy to those who are
void of it, we decided to see if there is a physical truth behind Bergson’s
claim. This will allow people a more comprehensive understanding of laughter
and how that compares to empathy for those of us who are interested in biology/
chemistry.
Lucky for us there is a word that defines what we are studying- gelotology, the
study of laughter. The first thing that is to be noted is that there are
various kinds of laughter and each different kind of laughter involves various
network pathways of the brain. The various kinds of laughter includes but
are not limited to a response to joy, response to tickling, a signal of
mockery, or in response to something humorous (Science Daily). The latter
is what we are going to focus on in this blog, just to demonstrate what
physically happens, and to simplify our comparison. This comparison could be
presented in a digital format where the different pathways of laughter and
empathy are color coded, and you could click on a different area of the brain
to see what happens there and how each of these things are processed.
The main aspect we were curious about when looking at laughter was what
hormones are released? Do these hormones or pathways hint to the definition of
laughter that Bergson portrayed? From that article, Bergson mentioned
that laughter is void of emotion. Our project contains the differences
that each of these has on the brain. The main difference is that emotions
are usually limited to one area of the brain, where laughter resonates
throughout. The frontal lobe of your brain is your emotional
response. In comparison, laughter uses the left side of the cortex to
analyze the words and structure of the comical situation or joke, the right
hemisphere of the cortex to “get” the joke, and sensory processing areas like
the occipital lobe (lobe that interprets visual information)(How Stuff
Works). As for the hormones, it is known that laughter stimulates
the release of endorphins, which promotes happiness ( the same hormone that is
associated with “runner’s high”).
As for empathy, it is generally
defined as the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the
ability to imagine what someone else must be feeling or thinking. During a study done by Marx Thioux, M.D. and
his team, they discovered that there is greater stimulation in the premotor
cortex of the brain for those with the highest empathy scores, and that
stimulation is virtually inexistent in those who had the lowest empathy
scores. Similarly, the level of activity
in the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex is augmented when seeing someone
in emotional pain. In the premotor
cortex, there are things called mirror neurons.
These are the key to empathy. Not
only do they fire when you execute an action, but also when you observe another
individual performing that action.
Using these facts, we will form a
connection or lack of connection between the two actions. For example, those who participated in the
study concerning empathy, the premotor cortex was not as active if the person
they saw in pain previously offended them.
So, there has been speculated that there is an inhibitory gating
mechanism that can block the mirror neurons from firing. We were surprised to find this because we did
not actually expect to find any physical evidence of relationship between the two,
but maybe the mirror neurons must be blocked in order to laugh at other
people’s expense.
Using a visual representation during the poster session will allow us to
portray this information in a much simpler, easy to understand way so that
people will be able to understand a more comprehensive look at laughter and how
that compares to empathy. This
information can then be used to rather prove or disprove Bergson’s theory. (This conclusion, of course, is based off of
shallow information of how the brain functions.)
Works Cited
Berk, Lee S., M.D. "Laughter Does the Body Good." SuperConsciousness
Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.<
http://www.superconsciousness.com/topics/health/interview-dr-lee-s-berk>.
Brain, Marshall. "How Laughter Works." HowStuffWorks.
HowStuffWorks.com, 01 Apr. 2000. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/laughter1.htm>.
Feature, R. Morgan
GriffinWebMD. "Laughter: Good For Your Health." WebMD. WebMD,
n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.<
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter>.
"Is
Laughter Really the Best Medicine?" ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily,
n.d. Web. 14
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