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The Physiology of Laughter Essay

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Laughter is part of everyday life for every human. Although we do it daily, most people do not know how it works, nor how it helps us with our health. Something that we do all the time is something that we do not even think about. We, as humans, take laughter for granted. It might come easy to us, but laughing is actually very complex. It also helps us physically, mentally, and socially. Although, many people do not agree on humor, we can all agree on one thing: laughter is important.
Laughter is unique movements of the face and body that are expressed due to amusement and sometimes contempt or derision. (Websters) But do we not need more than that? Do we not deserve to know more? Of course. Although laughter is something that we …show more content…

Whenever the voice box is closed, air cannot travel. However, when the larynx is just barely open, it produces sound. When we hear the sweet music of laughter, is it because we breathed out while our vocal cords were not open and with the help of our respiratory muscles, we produce the steady sound of laughter. But, what goes on in the brain whenever we laugh?
Of course, we all know that the brain is one of our major organs and our brains are always in use, but what goes on in the brain when we laugh? The study of laughter and the affects it has on the body is called gelotology. Although laughter may come easy and natural to us, our body has to go through a rather complex process. We don’t know much, but researchers have done studies that have shown that laughter is caused by many parts of the brain. These researchers have done many tests by hooking subjects up to an electroencephalograph (EEG). An EEG is a record of the our brain’s electrical activity. (2013, Babylon) When doing these tests, researchers realized that the brain made the same continuous electrical pattern. The subjects were then shown something that was funny. Not even five-tenths of a second after the subject saw the joke, an electrical waved moved through the cerebral cortex. This part of the brain, the cerebral cortex, determines intelligence, determines personality, motor functions, planning and organization, and touch sensation. Laughter would result after the wave

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