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Common causes for laughter are sensations of joy and humor; however, other situations may cause laughter as well. A general theory that explains laughter is called the relief theory. Sigmund Freud summarized it in his theory that laughter releases tension and "psychic energy".
Two girls laughing. Gelotology (from the Greek γέλως gelos "laughter") [1] is the study of laughter and its effects on the body, from a psychological and physiological perspective. Its proponents often advocate induction of laughter on therapeutic grounds in alternative medicine. The field of study was pioneered by William F. Fry of ...
Laughter and joy, according to relief theory, result from this release of excess nervous energy. [1] According to relief theory, humor is used mainly to overcome sociocultural inhibitions and reveal suppressed desires. It is believed that this is why we laugh while being tickled, due to a buildup of tension as the tickler "strikes." [1] [8]
An affected individual exhibits episodes of laughter, crying, anger or a combination of these without an apparent motivating stimulus or in response to stimuli that would not have elicited such an emotional response before the onset of their underlying neurologic disorder. In some patients, the emotional response is exaggerated in intensity but ...
Laughing can even add years to your life, the expert noted: "It has been found that regular laughing is associated with reduced all-cause mortality."
Paradoxical laughter has been consistently identified as a recurring emotional-cognitive symptom in schizophrenia diagnosis. Closely linked to paradoxical laughter is the symptom; inappropriate affect, defined by the APA Dictionary of Psychology as "emotional responses that are not in keeping with the situation or are incompatible with expressed thoughts or wishes". [3]
Kuru, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, is a disease of the nervous system that causes physiological and neurological effects which ultimately lead to death. It is characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia , or loss of coordination and control over muscle movements.
While jokes can provoke laughter, laughter cannot be used as a one-to-one marker of jokes because there are multiple stimuli to laughter, humour being just one of them. The other six causes of laughter listed are social context, ignorance, anxiety, derision, acting apology, and tickling. [ 106 ]