Why do we laugh? The causes that make laughter something innate

For a long time, the focus of attention has been placed on why we are sad or why we suffer from a disorder, with the clear intention of "correcting" the problem.

Nevertheless, What many psychologists and psychiatrists have forgotten is understanding why we laugh, to encourage laughter and promote long-term psychological well-being.

Although research has been expanding this question a little more in recent years, the truth is that this question still raises many unknowns. Let's take a closer look at this question.

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Why do we humans laugh?

Throughout the history of psychology, much attention has been paid to the negative and pathological aspects before the positive ones when trying to understand how they originate. Be it anxiety, stress, depression or anger, these emotions have been extensively studied, with the intention of figuring out how to correct them. On the other hand, positive emotions have been seen only as the desired result, without understanding why they occur.

Fortunately, the vision has been changing. Currently it is about understanding the origin of the discomfort of the person, makes it related in a way healthier and achieve well-being, but understanding how to produce that positive situation and keep it. This idea has been widely defended in currents such as positive psychology, by the hand of Martin Seligman, promoting acceptance and understanding of positive emotions, without pathologizing negative emotions or treating them as terribly undesirable.

Laughing is undoubtedly good, having multiple benefits on an organic level. It has been related not only to our having greater physical and emotional well-being, but also acquires a very important role at the evolutionary level, demonstrated in our social relationships. Despite all this, it has not been until a long time ago that there has been an attempt to address laughter in a scientific way, with the intention of answering the question of why we laugh. That question so simple and, at the same time, so complex, that its answer still remains, broadly speaking, a mystery.

The importance of laughing

Happiness, joy, humor and laughter are positive phenomena necessary for our body. In most cases, and provided that it occurs in the appropriate contexts, these emotions have a clear adaptive function, on a personal and social level. Usually, when we laugh with other people we are acting clearly prosocial, giving them signs that we enjoy being with them, something that enhances relational bonds.

Laughter is a very important non-verbal component when communicating. It is the non-explicit way of indicating that what we are saying is either a joke or something that should be interpreted with humor. For example, if we say something that seems to be serious but, at the same time, we laugh, it is as if we are taking iron out of the matter. Soften the blow and avoid having an awkward moment with other people, maintaining relationships.

And this is where it acquires its evolutionary importance. Laughter is a phenomenon that has been observed in other species, many of them close to humans (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans) and has also been seen in foxes. Laughter in the animal world serves to indicate that, when a certain action is being carried out, it is not serious, for example in "fights" or biting between foxes. It is his way of saying that "they are only playing, that there is nothing to worry about".

Another important aspect of laughter is its regulatory function of group behavior, attributed to the fact that it can be contagious. As with yawning and posture, laughter is contagious, making members of a group synchronize laughing all at the same time, even if they have no clear reason for it.

The reason why laughter is contagious has to do with some very important neurons for humans: mirror neurons. These neurons are very important in our behavior, since it is what allows us to replicate the gestures of others. The same would happen with laughter: when we saw another person laugh, these neurons would be activated and we would replicate their behavior.

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What are the benefits of laughter?

Laughter has a very positive influence on an organic level. Stimulates the immune system, which translates into greater resistance against pathogens. It has also been observed that thanks to it our pain threshold increases, that is, it makes us less sensitive to pain. It is for this reason that therapies such as laughter therapy have proven useful in hospital settings and various medical treatments. Although the disease is not cured, it is made that the person who suffers from chronic pain does not feel it as much.

Laughing has been observed to contribute to a reduction in cholesterol levels and an improvement in oxygenation of the blood. You should not think that laughing is synonymous with running a marathon, but it does turn out to be good aerobic exercise. Thanks to its effects, it has been possible to relate being a smiling person with having up to 40% fewer vascular problems, making it possible to live an average of four and a half years longer. In other words, it could be said that the popular saying of "laughing lengthens life."

But, in addition to the physical, it is obvious that laughter influences our mental health. The act of laughing helps to calm anger, which, in addition to reducing the risk of heart problems, prevents relationship problems. In addition, it contributes to raising the mood, increasing the levels of dopamine and endorphins, hormones involved in psychological well-being.

What happens in our brain when we laugh?

Thanks to modern neuroimaging techniques, it has been possible to see how the brain behaves when we laugh.

First, for laughter to occur it is necessary for our brain to interpret a received stimulus as something incongruous. That is, when we interact with the world, our brain expects things to happen according to its rational forecasts. If something goes out of that reasoning, the brain interprets it as an incongruity, which surprises you.

This is easy to understand when they tell us a joke. We are amused because the "punchline" has surprised us. This perception of surprising incongruity would occur in the dorsolateral prefrontal region and the temporoparietal junction of the dominant hemisphere.

Later, and in response to this incongruity, the brain activates the reward circuit. It does this by releasing dopamine, which is the neurotransmitter that produces that pleasant sensation associated with laughter and happiness. It is for this reason that it can be said that laughter is very closely related to other pleasant phenomena, in which the reward circuit is also activated, such as drug use, sex, being in a social relationship or eat.

The phenomenon of humor

In our species, laughter is innate, beginning to manifest itself after the first five weeks of life.. The fact that laughter is something universal can be verified with deaf, blind or deafblind people. In these three groups, as long as there is no comorbid disorder associated with relational problems, laughter is a phenomenon that occurs naturally, even if they have never seen and / or heard it.

Anything, however simple and banal it may be, can make us laugh. However, laughter should not be confused with humor, a component that, although closely related to it, is not universal. Humor depends on cultural, personality and developmental factors, making each person have a very different sense of what makes them laugh.

It is for this reason that there are more serious people than others, since their idea of ​​what is funny can be much more strict than ours. Also factors such as age and sex influence. Women laugh more, enjoying humor more, since it has been seen that two are activated in them specific areas of the brain related to the brain: language and short memory term.

It has also been seen that we do not all laugh in the same way. The psychologist Paul Ekman, a pioneer in the study of emotions, was able to differentiate up to 16 different types of smiles and laughs, each with an emotional meaning and interpretation different. In addition, research has been carried out on how true or false laughter is, having Guillaume as a pioneer in these studies Duchenne, who observed that the way the eyes roll in fake laughter is very different from how it is done in real laughter.

Pathological laughter syndrome

In the same way that laughter can be synonymous with happiness and imply multiple benefits at an organic level, it can also be an indication that you are suffering from a serious problem. There are laughs that are caused by stress, anxiety, tension or as a result of a neurological injury.

Laughter that is dysfunctional, manifesting itself in an uncontrolled way and with an inordinate intensity is what is known as pathological laughter syndrome, which can also develop into crying and rapidly alternate between euphoria and sadness.

This syndrome can be observed in multiple medical and psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, various types of dementias, Angelman syndrome, epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, or brain tumors. In these cases, laughter is an indicator that a health problem is being suffered and medical, surgical, psychiatric and psychological intervention is required.

Bibliographic references:

• Gervais, M. & Wilson, D. S.. (2006). The evolution and functions of laughter and humor: A synthetic approach. The Quarterly review of biology. 80. 395-430. 10.1086/498281.