Cartoons act like cocaine
Date: December 5 2003
By Roger Highfield in London
A search for the mind's "funny bone" has shed new light on the mysteries of merriment, revealing that the reason humour is addictive is that it activates "reward centres" in the brain.
This work, and further studies to come, would clarify why men and women had different styles of humour and shed light on why some people were giggly and others grumpy, said Allan Reiss of Stanford University.
Sophisticated brain imaging techniques were used to look at activity in specific brain regions when Dr Reiss and colleagues presented people with cartoons considered funny or unfunny.
The results, published in the journal Neuron, show that, in addition to activating areas associated with the perception and production of language, humour activates a network of brain structures associated with known reward systems.
Amusing cartoons activated a region of the brain, called the nucleus accumbens, that has previously been linked with happiness and with cocaine- and amphetamine-induced euphoria.
The reward network is "a very powerful brain subsystem, if you will, underlying motivated behaviour. It will be fascinating to see if persons whom others might consider 'humourless' lack this component of their humour appreciation network," Dr Reiss said.
This new information will shed light on social behaviour. "One's sense of humour often dictates if, how, and with whom we establish friendships and even long-lasting romantic relationships. Humour also is a universal coping mechanism when faced with all varieties of stress," Dr Reiss said.
The Telegraph, London